Chapter 1

Fallen Star

It was a hot summer day as Opiter was working on the field.
He was hard at work as usual, trying to make a living with every job he could get since his parents passing. It wasn't easy being an orphan, and he hadn't heard from any of his relatives for years.

Opiter was a 17-year-old boy of normal stature and even if he was one of the more lazy kind, the hard work on the field kept him in good physical shape.

As Opiter continued working, feeling exhausted and sweat covering his fair skin, glistening in the sun as if he were an oiled gladiator waiting for his next match, he heard someone shouting his name.
He lifted his head, revealing his emerald coloured eyes.
His brown straight hair was swaying in the breeze as his eyes looked for the location of the voice.

„Opiter! How many times do I have to call you? Are you deaf?“ The farmers daughter was standing on top of the hill he was working on with her hands on her hips and an annoyed look on her face.

Livia was older than Opiter and since he arrived here to work as a farmhand for her father Justus, she took care of him as if he were her younger brother.

„Quit gawking and move your feet, your food will get cold!“

„I‘m coming!“ said Opiter, left his tools and made his way up the hill.

On top the hill was a small shack wich had barely enough room to fit the necessary farming equipment with a bench attached to the side and a small wooden table.

As Livia set the table she said „Help me get this water barrel of the carriage and untie the horse to let it graze, I bet it’s hungry too.“

Opiter touched the water barrel and it vanished into thin air, he then streched his hand out to the side of the table and the barell shot out of his hand hitting the ground with a loud thud.
„D****t!“ said Opiter to himself „I think I‘m getting rusty.“

Livia startled by the sound turned to Opiter and started to scold him.
„How often do I have to tell you to be caferul with that magic crap! I hope for you that barrel is still intact!“

Waving her finger in the air as her braided golden blonde hair waved with every hand gesture reminded Opiter of how his mother always scolded him when he practiced his magic in his old house.
He couldn’t help but smirk a bit, with a playful grin on his face he said
„I‘m sorry, I‘m just abit rusty. It won’t happen again and look, the barell is fine it was just a small drop.“

„Well that’s that.“ Livia sighed.
„Now untie the horse until i finnish setting the table.“
Opiter tied the horse to a peg and let it graze. He made his way to the water barrel, grabed the laddle and let the cold water pour down his his head and neck.
„Ahh. You‘re an angel sent by god do you know that?“ exclaimed he relieved.

Livia looked at him and said „Hey doofus, do you how much work it was to haul all that up this stupid hill? So use it sparingly I‘m not planning to make that trip daily. Also it’s meant for drinking and not showering.“

„Oh quit complaining.“ answered Opiter. „The horse did most of the work, it‘s not like you carried it on you back up here.“

She crossed her arms and said „Well, then you can teach the horse to pour buckets of water from the well into the barrel and if you‘re at it, why don’t you teach it to cook for you too?“

They both looked at each other and shared a chuckle.
Opiter then sat next to Livia on the bench and lloked at the table.
There was a hot pot with delicious stew in it, bread and cheese.
Livia poured him a bowl and said „Enjoy your meal!“ with a smile on her face.
Opiter didn‘t waste much time, ripped the bread in half and started to chow down.

As they were enjoying lunch in the summer sun Livia asked Opiter „Say Opiter, what were you up to before you wound up at our farm?“

Opiter looked up from his bowl and responded „Nothing much really. I mostly just wandered aimlessly in the city taking any odd jobs I could get my hands on.“

„There’s got to be more to it, come on.“
said Livia while waving her spoon above her bowl.

Opiter looked up from his bowl down the hill and said „No. That’s it, working jobs for coin and sleeping wherever I could find a spot.“

„That seems like a hard life, I can’t imagine myself in that uncertainty.“

„It was.“ began Opiter smiling. „But thankfully I‘m here now. Even if I don’t get paid here, I‘m happy to have to eat every day and a place to sleep every night.“

„I’m glad to hear it.“ said Livia with a smile.
„I also always wanted to ask you about your powers.“

Opiter looked a Livia and asked „What about them?“

„I‘ve never met someone like you.“ said Livia stiring her bowl. „How did you learn that and how can you use them?“

Opiter held his palm up and a ball suddenly popped out of his hand.
Livias deep blue eyes widened and sparkled. She tried to grab the mysterious ball as Opiter moved his hand away and gave her a smack on the back of her hand.
„Ouch!“ yelped Lavia.

„No touching! Only looking!“ Opiter said in a serious tone. „This is a focus crystal. It‘s the only thing I have left of my family, also if this thing breaks I won’t be able to use magic anymore until I buy or make a new one.“

„What’s the big deal?“ Lavia asked while shaking her hand from the slap. „Isn’t this just a glorified glass ball?“

„As I said. It’s a focus crystal. Granted, this one only allows me to bundle my magic to make it usable, but there are crystals imbued with magic that focus on their own and make it far easier to cast spells since you don’t have to control your magic.“

Livia rests her head on her hand as she eats a piece of bread and asks „Then why don’t you just get one of those if they’re so superior to yours?“

„I would if I could.“ answered Opiter „But you see these things are priceless, even the one I have could fetch a price up to 500 gold pieces.“

Livia choked and exclaimed in shock „500 gold pieces!.“

Opiter just nods and finishes his stew.
„Then why don’t you sell it? With that much gold you could by a farm on your own that is triple the size of ours.“

„I wouldn’t be able to use magic if I sell it, also I would have to go to Vildor or another big city in oder to find a buyer. Even if I make it to a city and try to sell it, mages and students would be more inclined to buy a crystal with magic inbued. So that’s that.“

Livia smirked „So it’s just as I said, a glorified glass ball.“

„As I already told you, it is not!“ said Opizer annoyed.

Livia continued to grin and said „Relax, I‘m just playing. Where did you learn this stuff anyway?“

Opiter looked up in the sky and began explaining „I was once a student in the academy of Vildor. The mages there thaught me everything I know about magic and the world. They had told us of a giant sea but every water droplet was a grain of sand and it only rained sand.“

Livias eyes widened as Opiter continued.

„They also told us that there are lush green forests with trees so big that they can almost reach the very stars. We also learned that monsters, spirits, demons and the like exist, although they‘ve become very rare.“

„Stop! don’t talk about scary stuff, do you want me to up all night?“ Livia shudders.

„You were the one to ask. The mages also thaught us how to focus our magic and control it efficiently. Frankly to say, it was the most fun I‘d ever had in my life.“

Livia raised her brow and asked „If you liked it so much there, then why did you even leave in the first place?“

Opiter looked at the crystal and it vanished into his palm, then he got up from the table and started walking down the hill.

„I have still plenty of work to do until nightfall.
Thanks for the food!“

Livia watched as he walked away and shouted after him „And who is going to help me pack everything back on the carriage again?!“

Opiter just raised his right hand without looking back and continued to walk downwards.

„The nerve of this guy.“ Livia mumbled to herself.

As Livia packed everything and went on her merry way, Opiter continued to work and wondered to himself if there was a way he could go back and finish his studies.

Evening came and Opiter was sitting with the farmer Justus and his daughter at the dinner table.

„Livia told me you showed her your magic tricks again.“

Opiter startled and answered
„I was just helping with the water barrel since it was hea-„

„STOP!“ Justus exclaimed in a stern voice.
„I told you, it‘s a difference if a Mage uses his magic, but you are but a novice. What if someone got hurt? What if you one day absorb a part of Livia or god forbid, absorb her whole!“

„That’s not possible!“ explained Opiter.
„I can’t absord things that have magic power in them and all living things have some sort of magical signature.“

Justus sighed and looked worryingly at Opiter. „Look, even if you can’t absorb living things, it’s just too dangerous if something goes wrong. I don’t want you to use magic around here, understood?“

Opiter nodded defeated „I understand. Am I free to go?“

Justus crossed his arms and nodded.
Opiter stood up from the table and made his way outside. „Thanks for the meal.“ he exclaimed shortly.

Livia watched him leave the house and felt guilty for telling her father about lunch today.

It was a clear night sky and the stars were glistening with a radiant beauty.
Opiter held his crytal in his hand and watched as it reflected the Moonlight in every colour imaginable.
He looks up to the night sky and thought to himself.

What if I really sell the crystal and give up on becoming a mage? I could buy a house with a storefront in a city an become a merchant, or I could lease it. That would be a nice way to start a new life.

He absorbed the crystal and looked up into the night sky.
He wanted to see so many places his teachers thaught him in school.
He wanted to see the very landscapes of the paintings that adorned the hallways and staircases.

From a sea made of sand to the temples in the sky he heard a mage talking about, wich is rumored to be inhabited by small humans who he called dwarfs and possess no magic whatsoever but managed to built a marvel in the sky through sheer ingenuity.

As he watched the sky the stars pulsed rythmicly as if everyone had a heartbeat of its own, he saw a shooting star soaring through the night sky and closed his eyes.

„I wish there was another way.“ he mumbled to himself.

He opened his eyes and saw a star that got brighter and brighter, he marveled at it and wondered how it was possible for a star to get brighter and bigger all of a sudden.

Smiling, he stood up and streched out his hand. It felt as he could grab it right then and there. His smile quickly vanished from his face when Opiter realized that the star was coming straight at him.

„What do I do? What do I do?!“ he panicked.

Opiter ran into the barn and absorbed all the hay he could find and ran back to the spot he was standing.

„If the star crashes here it will destroy the house and kill Livia and Justus. I have to dampen the blow as much as I can!“

He watched the star closely as it got closer closer to tell where it would hit the ground.
As it got closer he could see flames erupting from its side and hear a sound that was akin to a roaring dragon.

Opiter streched out his arms and shot every haystack and straw he absorbed from the barn right before the star hit the ground.
He closed his eyes and heard a loud bang.

Justus came out the house running and started yelling „What the hell?! Opiter, what did you do now?!“

„That wasn‘t me! A star fell from the sky and I tried to stop it!“ He answered.

„What do you mean a star? This is a boat! And how could it fall from the sky?“

Opiter stood up and asked confused
„A boat?“

„Yes! A boat! How do you fit all of these things inside of you?!“ asked Justus.

Opiter walked towards the in flame engufled wreckage and stood next to Justus looking at it.

Livia ran out of the house and pointed at the steering wheel „There’s a person!“ she exclaimed.

Justus held her back and scoldet her „I told you to wait inside!“

„But-.“

„No buts young lady go back inside.
And you!“ Justus pointed angrily at Opiter
„I was willing to overlook all the shenanigans you pulled with your magic shtick, but this? This is too much! Even for you!“

Opiter ran towards the wreckage and answered „You can scold me later old man! Let’s get this poor soul out of there first!“
Opiter grabed the person by the shoulders and pulled him towards the house.

The fire on the wreckage soared higher and the structure collapsed on itself.

„A child?“ said Justus surprised

Livia pointed at the chin and said
„Children don’t have beards now do they?“

„I think this is a dwarf.“ said Opiter „I heard the mages in my school talk about them.“

Justus crossed his arms and shook his head.
„Dwarfs are just fairytales, just like dragons or monsters.“

„Well, a fairytale just crashed on a boat from sky“ said Opiter pertly. „He‘s wounded. get some water and rags.“

Justus shook his head in disbelief and went inside.

The dwarf coughed up blood and asked Opiter „Where am I?“

„Shh, you have a deep wound in your chest.
you need to conserve your energy.“

Livia asked concerned „Is he going to die?“

The first dwarf that Opiter encountered was about to pass away in his arms.
There is so much he wanted to ask him, so much he could tell him.
Who is he? Where did he come from? How can a boat fly through the air like a bird?
Then Opiter rembered what the mages once told them.

-Dwarfs are the only race who are born with no magic in them whatsoever, there is no signature.-

„He‘s not going to die!“ said Opiter and absorbed the dwarf whole.
He then let the dwarf out of his body again.

„His wounds are gone!“ exclaimed Livia with a relief in her voice.

There then was a thud followed by splashing water as Justus dropped the bucket he had fetched from his home.
He walked to Livia and grabed her by the arm. „You! Inside! Now!“ he hissed.

Livia ran inside and watched what was happening outside from the window.

„You told me you can’t absorb living things!“
Justus yelled.

Opiter looked up to him and said „I can‘t, but he-.“

Justus interrupted him „You lied to me! How can I belive that this boat fell from the sky? How can I trust you?!“

„Justus, let me explai-.“

„No!“ he interrupted him again.
„You have to leave! Now! I can’t have someone who is a danger to me or my daughter around and on top of that someone who is dishonest and lies to me!“

Opiter looked at the dwarf, since he ejected him he hadn’t moved a muscle.

„I understand.“ said Opiter. „I will leave and never bother you again.“

Opiter picked up the dwarf and started going down the path towards the forest near the farm.

„Thank you for everything you’ve done for me Justus. I will never forget that!“ said Opiter.

Justus watched him walk away and went back inside.

„Well done Opiter,“ he said to himself „you couldn’t have waited until Justus wasn’t looking now could you? Idiot!“

Just before Opiter reached the forest he heard Livia yell his name.
„Opiter!“

„Livia?“ he responded surprised.

Livia stopped before him and rested her hands on her knees.
After she caught her breath she held out a bag infront of Opiter. „Here, for you.“ she said. „There’s bread, meat, cheese and water in here.“

Opiter answered stunned „Livia, you should go back, when your fath-.“

„Oh, he said that’s ok.“ she interrupted him. „And after all, I can’t let you go without saying goodbye proper“

Opiter looked up to the house and saw Justus with crossed arms staring at them.

„Thank you, Livia. I will never forget what you and your father have done for me.“

Livia smiled and said „Don’t you worry. I had the most fun in years wit you here!“
She looked at the ground, fumbled with her fingers and said „Say Opiter, what’s your plan now? Where are you headed?“

„I don’t know.“ answered Opiter „First I‘m going to save this ones life and after that, I think it’s back to fending for myself like it was before.“

Livia started to tear up „Just be careful, okay? And if sou don’t know where to go or bad gets to worse, you can alwqys come back, I‘ll talk to my father and I promise I�"„

Opiter put a hand on her head and said „No need to worry. I‘ll get by and once ai have things in order I‘ll come back to visit.“

She wiped her tears from her face and asked „Do you promise?“

„I promise.“ said Opiter.

Opiter couldn’t help but smile as he said his goodbyes to Livia.
Livia waved Opiter as he made his way into the forest and headed back home.

Now it was just him and this dwarf who still hadn’t moved a muscle since Opiter absorbed him. Did he wait too long to absorb him and died before he could?
Did he kill the dwarf by accident when he absorbed his body?
Opiter shoved these questions by side and thought to himself that he is just exhausted and will wake up eventually.
That’s what he hoped for atleast.