by R A Lindo
We’ve already been collected by our Williynx this morning, inches from the ground, so ice it is. The Weveris charm is deactivated, releasing us back into the open and the blasts of ice follow … two perfect channels streaking towards us, swooping under us until we can plant our feet on them, allowing us to skate on ice.
We slide on the paths of ice at a descending angle until the rollercoaster of fun begins, a screech of joy from me as the ice paths swoop upwards, spinning us in loops as we climb ever higher … towards the Perium in the sky and The Hallowed Land in the grounds of The Cendryll … where Jacob is introducing a legendary Society game to his impressionable students.
The Hallowed Lawn is Jacob’s chosen place for lessons involving a degree of risk. With his class receiving their foundational training, Jacob’s version of the curriculum has brought him to defensive charms. Although the Society has accepted the need for greater unity, the admission of under-age members follows a strict protocol.
It wasn’t as simple as: ‘Hi, kids. Just to let you know we work in a secret, magical universe and you’ve been chosen to join!’
It took time, selection and surveillance to test loyalties. After all, most kids can’t keep a secret for ten minutes let alone a lifetime, but a lifelong commitment is what’s expected, meaning the weak willed and loose-tongued were rejected: the Removilis charm removing all memories of their time in the S.P.M.A.
It would be ridiculous for a secret, magical Society not to have a memory altering potion, and the Removilis charm is ours, leaving the kids who’ve talked their way out of selection none the wiser. In the end, the eight were chosen, giving my brother his first class. I tried to talk Jacob out of it, suggesting he’d be bored teaching magic instead of using it, but he’s determined to forge a new path.
Jacob’s been with me every step of the way, from my entrance into the S.P.M.A. to the brutal reality of war, and it’s strange not to be with him now. Circumstances change, though, leading people to choose their own path, like Kaira who’s decided she’s seen enough magic and mayhem for the time being. Jacob’s six foot tall and lean with shoulder-length hair: kind, patient and considerate, making him the perfect candidate for teaching.
The morning return to The Cendryll is to help Jacob introduce a game to his class, thinking he might need help in explaining the intricacies of Rucklz. A game requiring skill and wit, Rucklz originally formed part of the initial training for new witches and wizards, the theory being that if you couldn’t handle theoretical battle, you weren’t cut out for a real one.
A board game in its original form, Rucklz is popular among Society folk, including in the tea rooms of Poridian Parlour. Formed of a collection of dots, the aim of the game is to activate one of the dots, transforming it into an object of attack or defence, depending on the order of play. Jacob’s idea is to create Rucklz on a much larger scale — out on The Hallowed Lawn which has become his training ground.
He’s using the game to improve his students’ reaction time. The class are improving their knowledge of defensive charms, Jacob says, but are still too slow in their response. Rucklz will simulate a friendly battle, forcing them to improve their intellectual and physical dexterity: two things needed when magic is called upon in sticky situations.
The Hallowed Lawn gets its name from generations of heroic witches and wizards who’ve given their lives for the continued protection of the S.P.M.A., Conrad’s dad being one such legend. Their ashes get released here in the presence of every Society soldier, marking the earth forever with the memory of the dead.
Jacob’s chosen this particular place for the space it offers and for its symbolic importance: a reminder of the consequences of misusing magic. He’s also realised that a traditional classroom is too limiting for effective tutelage, so The Hallowed Lawn it is. The threat of ‘returning to the classroom’ is normally enough to keep The Fateful Eight under control: a group of students with an interesting mix of intellect, talent and a general sense of indestructibility.
I remember feeling that way once but life has a way of humbling you, offering sharp reminders of how fragile all things are: lessons the excited, young crew will learn in time. Conrad and I have been called in as reinforcements, helping to referee the game. Rucklz is a game that can get out of hand when hot headed characters are involved, and this is Jacob’s first attempt at recreating the board game on a much larger scale, leaving me to wonder what chaos awaits us.
We appear in the sky above The Hallowed Lawn on our paths of ice which our Williynx continue to create for us … a dramatic entrance causing the eight students to turn away from Jacob’s tutelage, chasing the turquoise and powder-blue feathers floating towards them.
Whoever catches a feather first gets a ride on their chosen Williynx. I laugh as the path of ice beneath my feet surges towards the immaculate grass, allowing me to keep my balance as I tilt with the curves of ice. Conrad stays low as the lanes of ice guide us towards Jacob, our hair lifting in the crisp morning air as we touch down to the excited yelps of The Fateful Eight.
That class is made up four boys and four girls: Ava Blin, Tom Koll, Kate Follygrin, Roan Khan, Tilly Flint, Olin Zucklewick, Leach Creswell and Ethan Lyell. Ava is the tallest of the group, something she’s self-conscious about while Katie is the most competitive, and Tom the most sensitive. Tom’s fully aware of the dark stain over his family name, created by the evil wizard Erent Koll.
Tom’s nothing like his great uncle but still feels the need to gain people’s trust. Luckily, Ethan has become close friends with Tom, a boy with all the style and sensitivity of his great uncle: the legendary Weyen Lyell. Ethan continues the Lyell tradition of large afro hair, his athletic frame lending itself well to lessons centred around physical dexterity.
“Morning, lovebirds,” Jacob says in welcome, offering me a brief hug before shaking Conrad’s hand. He always gives Conrad a ‘parental look’ — a weird joke they share regarding our ‘growing relationship’.
Luckily, I’ve avoided the awkwardness of ‘boyfriend meeting parents’ because my dad’s never really been around and my mum … well, let’s just say she’s ‘finding her feet’ after a dramatic downfall. Mum used to be a big fish in The Cendryll but now she spends her days on the margins of Society Square — in a house left to her by Kaira’s grandad, but I’m getting off track: back to Rucklz and the magic of defensive charms.
“How’re The Dream Team?” Conrad asks, unable to hide his amusement at Jacob’s evident frustration.
“Annoying and over excitable,” Jacob replies, the top button of his shirt undone with the Society tie hanging down. He didn’t respond well to the idea of uniforms for teachers, relenting at the suggestion of a tie. His blue jeans, untucked shirt and jumper make up the rest of his ‘uniform’: a brother I miss on my adventures.
Leah Creswell yells in excitement as Conrad’s Williynx takes off from The Hallowed Lawn, taking the student who caught the first feather on a trip through the skies. The rest of the class crowd around us, desperate to know about our recent adventures.
“Have you caught any malevs recently?” Ethan Lyell asks, patting his afro to maintain its perfect form.
“We’ve bumped into a few,” I say with a smile.
“Can you teach us how to skate on ice in the sky later?” Tilly Flint asks, the most skittish of the group, giggling nervously after every statement. I find her a bit annoying, wanting to snap her into the reality of the life she’s chosen.
The first question she’d asked us was what it felt like to kill Erent Koll. The question brought blushes to Tom Koll’s face: the great nephew of the sinister wizard buried in The Saralin Sands.
Tilly isn’t the brightest but has a kind heart, leading her and Tom to become friends once he’d forgiven her thoughtless comment. With cliques forming among the students, it’s time to find out who’s going to make the grade. After all, their lessons will come to an end at the end of the year — the time when a decision will be made regarding their suitabilit
y for life as permanent witches and wizards.
The successful few will take their places in Society faculties or one of hundreds of shops spread throughout England. Here, they’ll settle into a life between the above ground world and the secret, magical universe they’ve had the fortune to be selected for. Selection, though, is only the beginning.
Jacob’s got his theories on where they’ll all end up, certain that only four of them will want to range beyond the safety of The Society Sphere: Ethan Lyell (because of his natural gifts), Tom Koll (out of a need to prove himself), Katie Follygrin (due to her competitive spirit) and Olin Zucklewick (out of sheer restlessness).
Conrad thinks that Roan Khan is the dark horse: quiet and brooding as if he’s planning his future but only time will tell. My money’s on Tilly Flint whose scatty nature is partly an act: the perfect foil for a young witch seeking an advantage within a group who know what’s at stake: a life of wonder or a return to above-ground drudgery.
“Time for a bit of carnage, I think,” Conrad jokes.
Jacob claps his hands at this statement, getting the attention of his students. “Okay, class: time to master your defences.”
“Defensive charms!” The group shout in joy only to be disappointed by a shake of the head from Jacob.
“Not quite. We’ll look at defensive charms again this afternoon, but before we do that we need to check your reflexes and reaction times.”
“Why?” queries Tom Koll.
“Because if you have to use magic, you’ll want to be confident you can activate it at the right moment.”
“Like when malevs show up?” Ava Blin asks, her eyes glinting at the thought.
“Right,” Conrad states, “or to just be confident that any charm you need can be ignited at the right moment. Today’s lesson will help with your speed and dexterity.”
“Sounds boring,” Katie Follygrin mutters.
“Rucklz isn’t boring, I can assure you Katie,” Jacob replies, struggling to hide his dislike of Katie’s sullen, self-centred nature.
“Rucklz…?” Olin Zucklewick queries — the smallest of the group. “Isn’t that boardgames?”
“Not the way we play it,” I add with a sharp clap of the hands which makes the group jump. “If things go to plan, you’ll either be running for your life, dragged to safety by our Williynx or smashing things into a million pieces, gaining you victory.”
“Wicked,” Ethan Lyell says, patting his immaculate afro again, as if he’s preening himself for an end-of-game interview.
Katie eyes Ethan who’s always her first choice for a teammate, mainly because she’s got a secret crush on him.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Katie asks impatiently.
“For the Williynx to blast a streak of ice into the sky,” Conrad explains, gesturing towards our turquoise and powder blue companions, hovering above the young wizards.
“Time to choose the teams,” Jacob states, taking out his Vaspyl and throwing it into the air, transforming it into a whistle. “Any moaning and you’ll be sent inside with a mark against your name. Time for the games to begin.”
6
A Helping Hand
Jacob adjusts his tie before saying, “Remember, everything you do goes towards your final mark, and our final decisions. It’s pass or fail: our magical world or the boring one you sometimes have to return to. How you play this game is as important as winning.”
“What?” Katie queries.
Ignoring Kate’s disgruntled comment, Jacob blows on his hands and releases a flurry of Quij: the luminous, colourful insects that light up The Cendryll. “You’re all familiar with the board game Rucklz, but we’re creating our own version of it out here.”
With that, he gives us the nod to introduce light to the occasion, the utterance of ‘Canvia’ releasing streaks of light and energy from our hands: topaz blue from Jacob and I while Conrad’s hands turn the colour of tanzanite. Without further explanation, we go to work marking out the outer boundaries of the game.
“While Conrad and Guppy prepare the pitch for you,” Jacob continues, having his class’ full attention now, “go over the charms we’ve been learning: the Bildin charm particularly. Obviously, Rucklz is based on your ability to build which is where the Bildin charm comes into play. Be imaginative and fast, remembering not to fall into the traps your opponents set.”
“Like what?” Roan Khan asks as he loosens his tie.
“Like masking steel in a glass shell,” I add, “or losing your temper and forgetting to defend before you attack. Rucklz is about holding your nerve and managing your mood. When you lose your temper, you lose control, leaving the objects you make to expand out of control, dragging you up into the air or across The Hallowed Lawn which is when things get messy.”
“So, it’s dangerous?” Leah Creswell asks, still exhilarated from her brief trip in the sky on the back of Conrad’s Williynx.
“We’re here to make sure it’s safe,” Conrad explains with a reassuring smile, “which doesn’t mean you go all guns blazing. Everything counts, remember: every lesson, every improvement and every mistake, so get ready.”
Conrad and I complete the pitch, stepping between the blue and tanzanite dots framed within an enormous square … the Quij hovering above the boundary of the pitch. Moving into their hoped-for teams, the young wizards wait to be put into teams.
“Someone’s going to end up in the air,” Conrad whispers as Jacob organises the class into two groups.
“Yep,” I nod, already knowing that the most competitive are going to fall short, making self-centred decisions that will undermine their team’s chances.
“Ava, Katie, Roan, Olin: Team One,” Jacob calls out, a cloud of anger passing across his face the moment Katie challenges his choice. “Tilly, Ethan, Tom, Leah: Team Two. Take your positions on the boundary and wait for my call. Guppy and Conrad are going to demonstrate the rules of Rucklz before we begin.”
“First, we need team names,” I say as Conrad joins me in the middle of The Hallowed Lawn. “Captains, step onto the dot closest to you.”
After a bit of murmuring and cajoling, Katie and Ethan step forwards.
“Right,” Conrad says to the captains. “Team names”
A quick discussion returns “Wicked Wizards” from Ethan’s team and “Slick Sorcerers” from Katie’s.
“Okay,” Conrad adds, whistling for his Williynx to take up position above Ethan’s team.
I do the same, gesturing for Laieya to rise into the air on the opposite side.
“On Jacob’s call, each person steps onto a dot,” Conrad continues. “You are not allowed to move from your dot until you’ve created your shape of attack or defence. You create your shape by tapping the dot like this and imagining the shape you want; it will form in your hands less than a second later.
Remember, Jacob’s chosen Rucklz to improve your reaction time when using defensive charms. We’re looking for this specifically so whether you win or lose isn’t as important.”
Stern nods follow from each team, fragile friendships replaced with intense stares as their desire to secure their place in the S.P.M.A. intensifies.
“One of the benefits of being out here,” I add, “is that the shape you create can grow. You use your arms to create the width you want and your imagination for the height. But if you lose control of your shape, you’ll be dragged off the pitch and out of the game. Rucklz is a game of subtleties … knowing when to strike and when to counter strike, setting traps for your opponents until they’ve got no point of attack or defence: like this.”
Conrad and I touch the dots we stand on, generating two vast shapes to demonstrate the majesty and might of Rucklz. Conrad’s chosen a line of daggers — glittering tanzanite weapons which hover momentarily before flying towards me. I’m ready with a block of steel which halts the daggers’ velocity, the steel wrapping itself around the daggers before it lifts, re-forming into a wrecking ball that swings towards Conrad’s head.
&nb
sp; Ethan’s team scrambles for cover as the wrecking ball crashes onto The Hallowed Land, rolling towards Conrad who uses the flight charm to propel himself into the air, touching the dot he lands on to create a vast crevice that the wrecking ball sinks into. With the wrecking ball contained, he throws out a spinning orb that whizzes towards me, and I react with a handful of dynamite which detonates the orb, sending shards of light spinning in the morning air.
We step off the playing field with a smile and a hug, letting the shards of light fade before Jacob claps his hands to jolt his stunned class to attention. “So, that’s Rucklz,” he says with a smile. “Any questions?”
The students are too stunned for questions, realising their limited training might not be enough for this version of Rucklz. With a second clap of his hands, the Williynx release a shower of feathers, leaving Conrad and me to form crests for each team: a gladiator crest for Ethan’s ‘Wicked Wizards’, and a Merlin crest for Katie’s ’Slick Sorcerers’.
With the stage set, stadium lit and team crests created, we take our positions on the side lines, ready to referee a match likely to have its fair share of drama.
The game begins with the sound of Jacob’s whistle. Ethan’s team is faster out of the blocks, taking their positions in a triangle formation on their part of the pitch. It’s an interesting strategy, helping them to activate their dots and thrust out a variety of objects before Katie’s team can get their bearings.
Ethan punches the air in delight as the ball bearings he’s formed bounce towards the opposition … Roan and Ava managing to jump at the right moment whilst Olin mistimes his jump, landing on two of the ball bearings and falling flat on his face.
“Get up!” Katie yells, her competitive spirit already spinning out of control as she launches a spear at Leah - the girl she’s competing with for Ethan’s affections.