Chapter Text
"Hurmph......"
As the hour strikes 2, Allen stays hunched over his desk. This has been a recent trend for him. Up at the top of his husband's tower, he works tirelessly on a timed project for the Black Magic Order. He needed to earn his right to an apprenticeship. He needed to prove to his wizardly peers that, despite being the only living person on Earth to have the curse of the 14th bestowed upon him, he could still cast magic. He's determined to discover the truth of the curse that plagues his ailing body and rid himself of it.
The only known thing about the curse of the 14th is that one of the founding fathers of magic created it to try to rid the world of the human race. The effects it has on the human body are torturous and dynamic. No person will have the same side effects. However, there is one thing each curse bearer shares: death. It’s an inescapable fate.
"Hey, Al," Lavi greets gently with a kiss on the top of Allen's head. He wraps his arms around Allen's shoulders and rests his cheek against his fluffy white hair. "It's two in the morning. Let's head to bed, yeah?"
Allen sighs and rests his head on Lavi's arm. "I can't. I need to figure this out. I have to. This is my only chance, and I absolutely must maximize my time."
Frowning, Lavi gives Allen a light squeeze before letting him go. He knows his husband is a man of conviction. Once the stubborn idiot sets his eyes on something, he never gives up. Lavi is almost tempted to cast a sleep spell on the sickly 23-year-old. "Would you like some tea before I go to bed?"
“No, thank you. Goodnight, Hun.” Allen says and moves his head to look at his doting husband.
Lavi kisses Allen sweetly on the lips and presses his forehead against Allen’s. “Goodnight, Love.”
Once Lavi left, Allen went back to working on his spell. To meet apprenticeship requirements, all wizards or warlocks must know how to cast magic, have good penmanship or a nicely made wand/staff/magical outlet of choice, and have fast drawing speed/casting when drawing runes/using a magical outlet. Allen had none of those. He couldn’t draw a circle or a straight line to save his life! His hands always shook due to the curse he bore; he couldn’t cast magic because of the curse, and he had no speed because he couldn’t do the first two requirements.
The curse didn’t stop Allen from trying to cast magic. In his heart, he knew he could do it. He knew he had the aether within him to do it; all he needed was the right outlet. He had to find the right wand. Staves were too heavy for him, and he was too low level for a magical weapon. He knows his Ka (spiritual energy) attunes well to bloodwood, but he’s having severe difficulty attuning his Ha (physical energy) to it.
“Fireball!” Allen shouts as he flicks his wand at the open window to his left…….. Nothing.
Allen groans and bangs his head against the messy desk. “O great Earl of Millennium, please grant me the ability to overcome my challenge,” he prays.
Allen was always a huge fan of Mana D. Campbell, the Founder. He was an Earl from his home country, England, and discovered magic through a well in the yard of his manor. He earned the title ‘Earl of Millennium’ because he made the “discovery of a millennium”. Campbell Manor has since been a place where members of the Mage Council go to hold top-secret meetings. Allen would always pray to Mana for good luck, and so far, the long-dead mage has yet to let him down.
However, hours later, the prayer has yet to bear fruit. Allen is still unable to cast even the simplest of spells. He stands up from his chair and walks over to the balcony that’s attached to the only window in the room. He leans against the edge and looks out into the sunrise. He ponders his inability to cast magic. Everyone and their mother can do it, so why can’t he? Why did he have to have this stupid curse put on him?
He looks out at the wisps of aether in the air and sighs deeply. He reaches out to grab a stray wisp with his cursed left hand, and it absorbs into it. He frowns. “I can absorb you, but why can’t I wield you?”
Allen balls his left hand into a fist and punches the wall beside him. Just as he does that, a surge of gold, powerful aether surges through his arm and creates a damaging flash of light. Anything that wasn’t made of stone or himself turned to ash. Allen blinked a few times before looking down at his hand. There, on the top of his cursed hand, was a small, twice-before-seen rune carved into it. Allen tried rubbing it off to see if it was just his imagination, but no. He had the rune of a scorerer imprinted into his hand.
He looked around and saw the damage that golden flash of light did to the room that was once a mess of stationery, books, and random tools. Allen felt… scared, but also excited. He did that. Him. “Red Arm”. The boy who couldn’t wield magic just wielded magic for the first time! And without a magical outlet!
Allen leans against the archway, slides down on the floor, and laughs. He didn’t know what magic that was, but it was magic nonetheless! “I… How?” he asks himself.
Allen looks at his hand again and tries to come up with a conclusion about how he was able to do that and why he has the mark of a sorcerer on his hand. There have only ever been two sorcerers to exist: Nea D. Campbell (the brother of the Earl of Millennium) and Apocryphos, a man who exists today but is so reclusive that nobody knows anything about him.
Lavi busts into the room panting. “Allen, did you-” his jaw drops to the floor as he looks at what once was his study. “Allen?!”
“I’m… here…” Allen announces as he sits up.
“What happened?! I saw a golden light up here earlier, and now I see the room in tatters! Are you okay?!” Lavi asks as he rushes over to his husband to check if he got any injuries.
Allen holds Lavi’s hands and smiles brightly. “I was able to cast a spell, Lavi! I did it! I can wield magic!” he exclaims excitedly.
Lavi was shocked. For many years, Allen had tried and failed to do even a simple enchantment, but now he can suddenly cast something so destructive? Lavi needed to see what rune Allen used or know what book he got his hands on. Something that can do this can definitely hurt people and the environment around them. It needs to be kept in check and away from the general public.
“What spell was it?” Lavi asks.
“I- I-I don’t know. I just punched the wall, and suddenly, magic just burst out of me. Uhm, maybe this can give you a better answer…” Allen says as he releases Lavi’s hands. Allen shows off the new mark on his left hand.
Lavi was speechless. If it wasn’t for the golden light, he would’ve thought this was some elaborate prank Allen was pulling. “We need to go to the council, NOW.”
This was definitely an urgent matter. Lavi was a responsible wizard. He had a respectable clan to represent as the new head. And as the head of the Bookman clan, he needed to consult the council because of this threat to the world. He knew Allen meant no harm, but the boy didn’t know how to use magic. He’s a walking bomb, waiting to go off at any given moment. He hated thinking of his husband that way, but he had to. He also loathed attending the council because of its notorious corruption.
“Oh, great helix, how are we going to get you there without the high risk of you decimating everything in your path?” Lavi questions out loud as he tries to come up with a solution.
“What if we got your grandfather to come and give us a consult first? Remember when he covered us when the council was hunting me down for my ability to see aether?” Allen suggests.
Lavi smiles brightly. His husband can sometimes be a genius when he wants to be. “That’s smarter than going straight to the council. I’ll send Timcanpy (a messenger golem) then. However, you must stay in this room while we wait. I don’t want anything else being turned to ash.”
The two men wait on separate floors of the tower for Bookman’s response. Bookman was a member of the council, but he was a trustworthy one. He was the one you wanted to go to first before you got the whole council involved.
After a couple of hours pass by, Bookman steps through a portal with Timcanpy on his shoulder. “Where is Allen?” he asks.
Lavi leads Bookman to the uppermost floor of the tower. Bookman eyes the devastation with a skeptical look. “Are you sure this came from a golden light?” he asks.
Lavi nods.
“Hi, Bookman!” Allen greets as he walks up to the short man.
“Show me your hand,” Bookman demands impatiently.
Allen shows Bookman the mark, and Bookman’s expression turns from one of annoyance to shock. “So, this golden light…… What happened?” he asks as he examines the hand closer.
“As you know, I can see aether. While standing on the balcony, I reached out with my left arm and grabbed a strand. My arm absorbed the aetheric strand. I then punched the wall with a great feeling of frustration, and then boom! A warm golden light wrapped itself around my arm before a big golden flash destroyed everything!” Allen explains.
Bookman sighs and processes this information. After a few minutes of silence, he says, “I have no idea of what to make of this; however, I do know a mage who can help you. But promise me to NEVER let the council know about any of this. They’ll try to brainwash you into doing their bidding.”
Allen furrows his eyebrows and nods. “Who is this mage that can help me?”
“He is Cross Marian, the Apostatized. He specializes in the study of sorcerers and is a close friend of mine. He can help teach you how to use magic and how to hide your sorcery.” Bookman explains.
Allen smiles. “Okay! Thank you, Bookman. I truly appreciate the help.”
Ten days later, Allen wishes he had never tried to cast magic. Eight days ago, Cross came to the tower. Allen was stoked because he could finally get his magic under control, but that excitement was short-lived after he realized Cross was a drunken asshole. The man was good at his job, but he was the most hateable guy Allen had ever met. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, however. In moments of sobriety, Cross was less of an asshole, and conversations with him were possible. He still loathed the guy, though.
Allen was able to use his first magical outlet! He didn’t need it, but he had to use it to blend in with the others and not alert the council. He was amazed by how easy a grimoire was to use. From the stories he’s heard, they were the hardest thing a mage could use. But here he was, using one. He learned how to cast 3 spells: fireball, bind, and cure. They were basic spells, but still spells nonetheless.
The golden spell he cast on the day of his awakening was unknown to Cross, however. As a precaution, Cross placed an element-binding spell on Allen to make sure no random surges of powerful magic spill out of him. Allen was discouraged by this news, but chose to not only discover the truth about the curse that ails him, but to figure out what magic hid within him.
After three months' worth of training had passed, Cross gave Allen a final mission: find a mentor and complete advanced mage training. The best way for Allen to grow as a mage is to introduce unfamiliar magics and different ways of thinking to him. The best place for that was a place full of strangers. With that final task, Cross disappeared with an ominous, “I’ll be watching.”
Lavi assisted Allen in finding a suitable mentor and crafted a compelling letter of recommendation. With an acceptance letter and determination in his soul, Allen was ready to face his first day as a mage’s apprentice at the Black Magic Order.