Magi Saga 1: Epic Calling

by Andrew Dobell

  He didn’t know what his school friends would think if they knew who he hung out with after school, and he didn’t want to find out.

  But as the days went on he found himself less and less bothered about what his school friends might think of him, and it was swiftly becoming harder to keep his friendship with them separate from his school persona, which was unsurprising really given his involvement with Francesca.

  He had known of Francesca - or Fran as everyone called her - for a long time, but recently he had been forced to work in a pair with her in school lessons, and they soon found that they got along really quite well, but it was his habit of doodling that had seemed to set things in motion.

  Stephan had grown up with an interest in history and culture, and when he entered his teenage years, this interest became focused on the more esoteric side of things and he found himself increasingly fascinated by the occult. He began to take a keen interest in Magic, Witchcraft, Necromancy, Alchemy and the mystical arts. He began to buy books and trawl through the internet to feed his curiosity, but he often felt alone in this interest. His school friends thought things like that were stupid and terribly nerdy, he hadn’t even bothered to try and talk to them about it, and so he found himself alone in his interest.

  But it wasn’t Fran who had first seen his side to him, it was Ben. Stephan was also interested in Science Fiction, he loved the Lord of the Rings and other fantasy tales, and it seemed that Ben did too.

  Ben had scared Stephan a little bit before he got to know him, as Ben was friends with a rougher element of the school, not the bullies, who were well known, but with those who were a little more street savvy and rough around the edges. They hung out in the school grounds, they were loud and seemed to be friends with the best looking girls in their year, something Stephan felt a little jealous about. He had used to wish he could be part of that group and maybe end up with a Girlfriend like the ones that hung out with Ben’s friends.

  Ben was also black, and all of Stephan’s friends were pasty white. At the time he was sure he wasn’t racist, but he had to admit, Ben scared him a little, and he had difficulty separating the fear he felt from the colour of Ben’s skin.

  It was an assumption based on popular culture he later supposed, after all, Ben and his mates often had R n’ B music blasting out from someone’s MP3 Player speakers during break time, the singers in these songs always seemed to be talking about ‘popping a cap’ in some ones ‘ass’, and boasting about the ‘honeys’ they had been with.

  Ben and Stephan lived not too far from each other and so had each had been aware of the other for a long time, but it was only when Ben approached Stephan on the way home one afternoon after school and they started to talk, that Stephan realised he had been an idiot in making assumptions about Ben, he also soon began to realise that he had also been a little racist too.

  Ben it seemed had seen Stephan with some Comics once, and a Sci-Fi Magazine, and even in the cinema at the latest release of a big blockbuster full of spaceships and aliens.

  By the time they reached home they had both realised they had quite a lot in common, and they began walking to and from school together more and more before going their separate ways once in school grounds.

  Ben had been the first person Stephan had told about his interest in the occult to, as Ben seemed like he might be open to it. As it turned out, Ben was interested in what Stephan had to say and the pair began to talk about these things more and more often. They started to hang out after school and watch films or talk about their shared interests, and it seemed like they were living a double life. They would see each other during the day across the yard, but do nothing but nod to each other, only to talk, laugh and joke on the way home that night.

  It was only when they had been friends for a while that Stephan had been put into a pair with Fran during some course work at school. They would be working together on a project for a few weeks and it seemed like they would have to get along.

  For the first few days they talked, were pleasant to each other, but that was all, until one day Stephan was idly doodling in his note book, his mind far, far away thinking about the film he had seen the night before when he suddenly became aware that Fran was staring at the book upon which he had been doodling. Looking down he realised he was scratching Pentagrams, Runes and other mystical symbols into the lined paper without really thinking about it.

  Stephan stopped doodling, and looked up, locking eyes with Fran. He closed the book and flushed, embarrassed that he had been found out, and by a girl of all things.

  ‘How do you know those symbols?’ she’d asked, speaking slowly.

  ‘Oh, you know…’ he’d stumbled, trying to cover for himself and feeling suddenly very hot under the collar.

  She’d eyed him briefly for a moment before continuing. ‘Are you interested in that stuff?’ she asked cautiously.

  ‘Heh, well. Not much, not really…’ He usually found talking to girls much easier, but not today, today he found himself flustered and at a loss for how to respond.

  ‘You’re lying, you are interested in them aren’t you. Cool!’

  ‘What?’ he blinked.

  ‘I said that’s cool. I love that stuff too. Me and my sister both love it! What stuff do you know?’

  And that had been it. Suddenly he found himself talking Magic and Mysticism with Fran for the rest of the lesson. Stephan knew of Fran’s Sister, Elizabeth, she and Fran were identical twins, but you never had trouble telling them apart. Fran was confident and forthright, strong minded and unafraid to speak up, but Liz was timid and shy, a very introverted girl, and although they were identical twins, their appearance couldn’t have been more different.

  Liz dressed conservatively, kept her long blonde hair straight and wore little makeup. Fran wore more daring clothes, dyed her hair a coppery colour, curled it and was rarely seen without any make up. Despite this, they were very close to each other, and Fran was incredibly protective of her shy and retiring sister.

  Fran said she and her sister had always been interested in the occult, witchcraft in particular, and often performed spells together. She even said some had worked, but Stephan felt a little sceptical about this last point.

  As he grew closer to her, Stephan spoke to Ben about Fran more and more as Stephan found that he actually kind of fancied her a little bit. He didn’t know what to do, having never had such feelings before, but Ben seemed more knowledgeable about these things. Ben said he really wasn’t, but Stephan didn’t believe him and continued to ask Ben’s advice anyway, so Ben did the best he could to help so that Stephan eventually took the plunge and asked Fran out.

  He wasn’t sure if it was a date as such, he just asked if she wanted to meet after school as their flat wasn’t too far away, certainly walking distance. Fran agreed and asked if she could bring Liz along with her? Stephan said OK and said he would bring his friend Ben.

  That first night they spent together as a group had been a fun night, and turned out to be the first of many.

  Stephan pulled his coat tighter around him, it really was quite cold tonight, and hurried on through the streets, lit bright yellow by the streetlamps. He passed house after house as he walked briskly along, walking fast to try and keep warm against the cold of the winter night. He’d arranged to meet his friends at one of the usual meeting spots they thought of as their own. Every group had them; each group of school kids had a place where they go to be with their friends and generally hang out, it’s their spot, their hangout, and woe betide anyone who trespassed on it.

  Stephan and his friends had a few places like that, a few hangouts they thought of as their own, and they had their own unimaginative names for them too. This one was known, enigmatically, as The Bench.

  There were a few benches on these streets, and any one of them would serve as a suitable hangout he supposed, as he passed each of them on his walk. The one they used had been chosen for no particular reason, it was near to Ben’s house he supposed, but th
en there were lots of benches that could claim that dubious honour. Their bench was also on a corner of the street, it had its own slight alcove that acted like a wind break created by the hedge and bushes around it.

  But these were things that other benches could claim just as readily. In truth, there was no real reason they always met at that bench, it was just one of those things.

  Walking up to it now Stephan could see three figures ahead, waiting for his arrival. The twins sat on the bench, huddled together for warmth, Ben stood in front of them, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, his stance slightly hunched against the cold.

  Ben always looked cool Stephan thought, he had that sense of style that seemed to come naturally to some kids, but was also utterly alien to others. Stephan liked to think he had it was well, but it was more hit and miss with him and his style wasn’t quite so ‘Street’ as Ben’s.

  Ben wore very baggy jeans with white trainers and a large puffer jacket, his head was shaved but tonight he wore a cap against the cold air. The Jeans had an embroidered red and black tribal pattern on them that went up from the ankle, up the lower leg, stopping just above the knee, very cool.

  The Twins looked as different as usual, with Liz in a cosy looking hooded woollen coat and jeans while Fran also wore jeans, but with a jacket and a few layers of clothing underneath, one of them a hooded top, the hood of which was pulled up over her head, her copper hair falling out either side of her hood.

  Ben saw Stephan approaching and gave him a wave, Stephan waved back.

  A few moments later Stephan took the last few steps up to his friends, and Ben turned towards him and extended his hand. Stephan took it and let Ben lead him through a series of complicated hand shake moves and a manly hug that served as greeting.

  ‘How you doin’ dog?’ Ben asked.

  ‘I’m good Mate, very well. And you?’

  ‘Good, you know, just chillin’ with the girls. Look at choo! You nearly as black as me nigga.’

  Stephan smiled. ‘Well, I didn’t do much sun bathing, but it was difficult not to catch the sun out there.’

  ‘You jus jealous of me good looks is all,’ Ben replied.

  ‘’Aaah, you got me. There’s no fooling you.’

  The two smiled at each other, enjoying each other’s company again. He liked Ben's street talk, it was a nice counter point to Stephen's own more plummy accent.

  Stephan turned to the two girls sat on the bench, they were looking over and watching Ben and Stephan greet one another, smiles on both of their faces, but Fran’s was bigger.

  ‘Hiya girls,’ Stephan offered.

  ‘Hiya,’ Liz said.

  ‘Hi Steph,’ Fran beamed.

  Stephan went and sat beside Fran and took hold of her hand. They looked at each other for a second, Stephan wanted to kiss her, but felt awkward beneath the gaze of Ben and Liz, and he wasn’t totally comfortable with public affection yet. Then Fran leaned in and kissed him quickly on the lips, a shudder of pleasure passed through him and warmed him thoroughly for a brief second.

  ‘Urrgh, I didn’t want to see that,’ Ben exclaimed jokingly and turned away for a moment in mock horror.

  Stephan ignored him and addressed Fran. ‘How have you been?’

  ‘Yeah, I’ve been good. Just doing the usual things,’ she said.

  It had been term time while Stephan had been away, his parents always preferring to do their own thing and ignored the fact it was not a school holiday and went abroad anyway. Stephan had taken some school work with him to do while he was away, which he had done in the evenings. It wasn’t much of a headache for his teachers because Stephan was a model Student, ahead in nearly all his classes with high expected grades. He found the home work he did on holiday easy, finishing it within a few days of arriving leaving him free to enjoy the rest of the excursion.

  ‘And school, how was school?’

  ‘Crap, as usual.’

  Stephan laughed.

  ‘But that’s all boring stuff. How was Egypt? Was it as mind blowing as we thought it would be with all those tombs and things?’ Fran said

  ‘Did you get to go in any? Tombs I mean,’ Liz asked.

  ‘Yeah, did you see any crusty Mummies?’ Ben joked.

  ‘Egypt was great. We spent some time in Cairo and went down the Nile to Luxor where we saw some tombs and stuff. It was amazing. I have a couple of memory cards full of picture on my camera.’

  ‘Oooh, I’d love to see them,’ Fran said.

  ‘Sure, I’ll get them printed soon anyway and I’ll show you them all.’

  ‘Did you see the Pyramids?’ Ben asked.

  ‘And the Sphinx?’ Liz added.

  ‘Yeah. They were amazing. It was great to see them right there in front of you. I mean, I've seen them in pictures, but seeing them in person is something else. They really are magical places. There’s something incredibly mystical about them, it’s as if they have a power.’

  ‘That’s like what we read isn’t it. That Pyramids have a power, they channel it somehow,’ Fran said.

  ‘I can believe it, after being there and experiencing it for myself.’

  ‘Did you climb up them?’

  ‘Nah, you’re not allowed, it’s dangerous as some people have died from falling off them.’

  ‘Nah, I bet you was just chicken,’ Ben said.

  Stephen eyed him with a raised eyebrow. ‘Piss off,’ he said jokingly, ‘but yeah, that would have been cool, I did the next best thing though, I went inside one of them.’

  ‘Oh wow, now that is cool,’ exclaimed Fran.

  ‘Yeah, it was. It’s quite warm inside them, and very cramped, but it’s totally worth it. The idea that you’re stood in the centre of a Pyramid is amazing.’

  ‘I bet,’ Fran said

  ‘Did you go anywhere else?’ Liz asked, obviously curious.

  ‘Well, we spent time in Luxor, which used to be called Thebes in ancient times. While we were there we went to the Luxor Temple, the Temple at Karnak and into the Valley of the Kings where all the tombs of the Pharaohs are. I have photos to show you which would be better than me telling you about them.’

  ‘Well, you’ll have to show us them as soon as you can,’ Fran said.

  ‘Yeah, that would be cool. You can show us on the laptop if you like, we don’t have to wait for no fuckin' prints,’ Ben interjected.

  ‘Yeah, that would be great,’ Fran said.

  ‘Okay, I can do that. I’ll put them onto the computer as soon as I can.’

  ‘Did you bring anything back with you? Any souvenirs?’ Fran asked.

  ‘Yeah, we got a few things, nothing all that stunning, but there was one thing I got my parents to buy. I think its Magical.’ Stephan said this last part in a conspiratorial whisper.

  ‘Magical? What, what is it?’ Fran asked, excited.

  ‘Well, I found it fairly early on when we were in Cairo and wandering round the markets one day. It was on this stall that was selling all these bits of pottery and other old bits of artefacts and things. Most of it was junk, probably fake and pretty worthless really. Some of the pottery looked like it came from a pot that might have been smashed the week before.

  ‘Anyway, one piece caught my eye. It was much bigger than most of the other things on the stall and stood out as not looking very Egyptian. It’s basically a rectangular slab of sand stone, a bit like a carving of a huge book or something, and there were all these carvings of strange things on the surface, but it was the runes that were on it that made me think it might be magical. We’ve seen some of them before in books and stuff, I’m sure of it, or if they aren’t what we have seen, then they are something very similar.’

  The group listened with rapt attention to Stephan’s story, Ben had sat down next to him as he spoke in lowered tones.

  ‘I was just stood at the stall looking at it and then I noticed the stall owner was looking at me, watching me carefully. He said “You like?” and I nodded at him. “Very, very old piece. Egyptian I think, y
es?” He said, but I wasn’t convinced, there were no Hieroglyph’s on it for a start and the carvings didn’t look Egyptian at all. But the Magical look of it convinced me I had to have it. So I called my Dad over and convinced him to get it. He was interested in it himself once he saw it as it looked like nothing else he had seen. So he started to haggle over the price and eventually got it down to a reasonable amount and paid for it.’

  ‘So where is it?’ Ben asked.

  ‘It’s back at the house right now, I know Dad is going to do some tests on it to figure out how old it is. It’s going to stay in pride of place in his study I think.’

  ‘So when do we get to see it?’ Fran asked.

  ‘Well, I can show you right now because I took some photos of it before I came out,’ Stephan said and pulled out his phone and found the Photos. He handed it around and they all had a look at the photos on his phone, cooing over them as they looked.

  ‘So what do you want to do?’ Fran asked.

  ‘Well, we can do some research on it, I’m sure I can email you some photos to work on it yourselves without me there. I think we should get together sometime when my parents are out and see if we can do some Magic with it or something.’

  ‘And how do you propose to do that?’ Fran asked.

  ‘Well, if we can translate any of the runes we can call them out or we can do some other stuff with it maybe.’

  During their time together as a group, they had tried to do lots of magical spells and rituals. Most of it not really designed to bring about a big effect, but a week before Stephan went abroad they had been messing about with some magic from a book that was meant to make things levitate that they bought from a Magic shop in Camden Market, some sort of Arcana Emporium with a grumpy owner. They hadn’t been taking things too seriously until they noticed one of their candles was hovering about a foot off the floor. It had stopped them dead in their tracks and all of them had just sat there in silence looking at it. It had hovered there for maybe two or three minutes, which passed all too quickly.

  Then it dropped from the air, and it hit the floor. It burnt the carpet a little bit but they put that out quickly and sat there looking at each other for what seemed like forever. Suddenly, the magic they were just messing about in seemed a hell of a lot more real, and suddenly, a lot more scary.