Chapter 3
December 18, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Flare woke the next day to the annoying sound of Sir Rodrigues’s bell. He grunted as he opened his eyes. He saw Opal rub her eyes and wake up.
“Up, up, up!!” he called. Flare felt a surge of annoyance. He got up and went to the changing rooms to get into his day clothes. Today’s outfit
was a pair of black jeans and an orange t-shirt. He quickly changed and headed downstairs for breakfast. He was the first one there. It was a buffet with many different choices.
Well, I get first pick…
Flare grabbed a plate and began to serve himself. He heard a couple of people enter. He turned his head slightly to see Oaklyn and Sir Rodrigues. Flare ignored them and grabbed a roll and some mango slices. He didn’t feel very hungry. Flare sat at the end of the table and began to silently eat. Oaklyn took a seat at the opposite side of the long table and gave Flare a brief glare. Opal walked in. She was wearing some flowy white pants and a light blue sweater. Her white hair was pulled back into a braid. Flare quickly jerked his head from looking at her and focused on his mango. Flare wondered who she’d sit next to.
Obviously Oakboy over there. They’re like best friends already.
When she sat down she took a seat in the middle between them. Flare saw Oaklyn stare at her in surprise.
“I saved you a seat,” he said, pointing to the vacant chair next to him. Opal gave him a friendly blink.
“Thank you,” she said, “but I want to sit in between both of you to get to know both of you better.” Oaklyn looked hurt but shook his head and continued to eat.
“Now,” Sir Rodrigues said, “today you will meet your mentor,” he announced.
“Who is he?” Oaklyn asked, intrigued. Sir Rodrigues smiled.
“I do love surprises, and I don’t want to ruin this one,” he said cheerfully.
“Fair,” Oaklyn said between chews.
“What tribe is our mentor in?” Opal asked.
Good question. Will our mentor be biased?Flare wondered.
“It’s part of the surprise,” he said with a smile, “and no, in case you’re wondering he won’t be biased. He left his tribe many years ago to help train you three specifically. You will all be treated equally.”
“That’s good to hear,” Flare said swiftly, “cause I don’t intend on giving him cheerful smiles every time he looks at me.”
Sir Rodrigues dipped his head.
“Finish up, your mentor is waiting.”
When everyone was done they got up and followed Sir Rodrigues down a hallway.
“Most of your lessons will be taught outside,” he explained. When they reached the end of the hallway Sir Rodrigues opened a door and light came through.
“Out you go,” he said, shoving them outside and shutting the door behind them. “How…forceful.” Oaklyn said judgingly. The outdoors had forest as far as the eye could see. It was very overgrown and looked like it had been there for years.
Flare heard a rustle of leaves and turned on the offense. A middle aged man walked through the ferns and toward the three.
“Who are you?” Flare hissed with a glare.
“I am Fern,” the man said, stepping out of the trees’ shadows. He had long dark brown hair. His eyes were as blue as Opal’s and he wore a dark green shirt with flowy black pants with plant designs on them. He inspected the three and paused when he reached Opal. “What’s your name?” he asked, his voice quivering. Opal seemed startled.
“I-I’m Opal,” she said nervously. His eyes shone with something Flare couldn’t place.
“I see…” he said, “what about you two?”
“I’m Oaklyn,” Oaklyn said with a nod of dignity. Flare restrained himself from gagging.
“I’m Flare,” he said, meeting Fern’s gaze.
“Alright. Opal, Flare and Oaklyn, I am your mentor and it is my job to teach you how to- well- how to save the world,” he chuckled. When only Opal smiled he went on, his face returning to its normal serious position. “I’ve just received word that there is a big disturbance in the tribes.”
What?“What kind of disturbance?” Flare asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Abductions,” he said.
“WHAT?!” Oaklyn yelled, “abductions?!”
“Did I stutter?” Fern said. Flare felt a surge of amusement. “They need your help. You three won’t be doing the normal helping with everyday stuff, no. You will be battle training and studying scenarios.”
“Sounds boring,” Flare muttered.
“Trust me, it won’t be,” Fern said confidently, “Now, follow me to your first battle lesson.”
Fern turned and walked into the forest. Flare, Opal and Oaklyn followed closely behind. They then reached a section of the forest where the trees surrounded a rectangle of well kept grass and flowers. There was a wall stacked with gadgets. Oaklyn gasped and jogged over to the wall. He extended a hand to grab a spear. “Stop!” Fern yelled. Oaklyn tensed and whipped around, startled.
“W-what?” he trembled.
“We don’t need fancy weapons for this lesson. You got powers, didn’t you?”
Opal nodded.
“Yeah,” she said.
“Good. What use would magical powers be if you can’t control them or even use them properly?” Fern pointed out, “So, we’ll start there.” Oaklyn nodded, a little embarrassed about trying to grab the spear.
“You,” Fern said, pointing at Flare.
“Yeah?”
“Come here and face Oaklyn and Opal,” he said. Flare did so, not liking all of the attention. “Take a deep breath and focus on fire.” Flare breathed in and thought of home. “Good, now extend your hand,” Fern instructed. As Flare extended his hand he felt a surge of power. His hand felt warm. “Very good!” Fern praised. Flare saw the flame in his hand. It was the size of a tennis ball. Flare was mesmerized as he stared at the flame flickering mischievously in the wind. “Now, close your hand to make it disappear.” Flare balled his hand into a fist and the flame disappeared like someone had blown it out the same way you would to a candle. “Oaklyn. Your turn,” Fern said, gesturing for Flare to stand next to Opal. Oaklyn grinned at Opal.
“I’m so excited,” he whispered to her. She smiled back for a second then turned her eyes back to Fern. Oaklyn extended his hand and clenched his jaw, clearly trying to make something magical happen.
“Stop, stop, stop. Fire and nature aren’t the same thing. You can summon plants, you can affect the ones around you though,” Fern said like it was so extremely obvious. Oaklyn nodded, blushing slightly of embarrassment. “Now, go press your hand against a tree and focus your mind on growing plants.” Oaklyn nodded and walked over to a tree. He placed his hand over on its bark and closed his eyes. Vines began to grow up his arm, sprouting flowers. Oaklyn opened his eyes and gasped.
“Oh my god!”
“Good. Now think about what you want it to do,” Fern said. Oaklyn focused back on the tree. A vine growing on Oaklyn suddenly shot up and grew towards Opal. Opal let out a yelp and shielded her face with her arm. “Oaklyn!” Fern yelled. The vine kept going. It grew and grew until all of it was above Opal. It started shaking and flowers fell down from the vines onto Opal. The remaining vines then detached from Oaklyn’s arm and wrapped around the tree. He turned around.
“Tada!” he exclaimed. Fern glared at Oaklyn.
“No. It’s not ‘tada’, you could have hurt Opal! You are inexperienced and we’re supposed to do somethingsmall!” Oaklyn flinched.
“B-but it worked!” he said.
“That’s not the point. Go sit down by the log, now,” Fern said angrily. When Oaklyn sadly walked away Fern sighed. “Mother of the stars,” he muttered, “alright, Opal your turn. Let’s walk to the river.” Fern, Flare and Opal walked further into the forest and reached a small river. “Okay, Opal stand as close to the water as possible and wake your hands around. In small movements please.”
Opal nodded and walked closer to the stream. She raised her hands and made swirling movements with them. Suddenly a small bit of water ascended into the air. It moved along with Opal’s movements, swirling and spinning.
“Well done,” Fern complimented.
“Thank you,” Opal said, her eyes staring at the water. She looked shocked with herself. “This is so cool,” she breathed. She waved her hand down and the bit of water that she had made float around fell into the water gracefully.
“Good job you two. Let’s head back to Oaklyn and practice some more. I think he’s done with his time out.”
When they got back to the clearing Oaklyn was sitting on the log, his fists pressed up against his face. When he saw them his face lit up. “Please! Let me try again! I’ll do something small, I promise,” he begged. Flare was enjoying this. Fern tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear.
“I was going to let you do that anyway,” he said with a blink. “But if you don't then you’llreallybe in trouble.” Oaklyn nodded fiercely.
“I won’t,” he oathed.
“Good, now you three separate and work on a small thing. I want it to impress me…not kill me,” Fern said, side eyeing Oaklyn. The three nodded and walked to different spots in the clearing. Flare began to brainstorm ideas.
I could juggle fireballs…no, too risky. I could try to do what Opal did; wave some fire around like it’s water. Yes, that’s what I’ll do.Flare began to summon a flame in his palm. When it worked he made it bigger. He waved his hand around. It looked like a snake made of fire. He brought his other hand close and began to control the fire with both hands. He waved it around into a ring, then back into a snake. He brought his hands close to himself and closed his hands. The fire disappeared.That was cool… hopeful Fern doesn’t think it’s too much or dangerous.Flare spent the next twenty minutes perfecting the stunt.
“Alright!” Flare heard the voice of Fern. He turned around. “Who wants to go first?” When no one responded, Oaklyn stepped up.
“I can,” he volunteered. Fern blinked.
“Alright then,” he said, “Flare, Opal, step back,” Fern instructed. Then he gave a curt nod to Oaklyn. Oaklyn took a deep breath and held his hand up to the leaves of a tree. The leaves rustled and some large sticks came out shaping itself into a teepee at the edge of the clearing. Oaklyn then balled his hand up into a fist and moss and flowers began to grow. Fern looked impressed. “Not bad Oaklyn,” he praised. Oaklyn smiled, satisfied with his teepee.
“I want to go next!” Opal said, standing up. Fern nodded.
“Okay, Oaklyn sit down, Opal come to the center of the clearing. I have a bucket of water for you,” Fen said, pointing to a rusted bucket with wilted gold rims. It was full of water.
“Thank you,” Opal said. She raised all of the water out of the bucket and spread it out. It looked like a waterfall. She curved it until it surrounded her.
A bubble…Flare thought. Opal had made a giant bubble and was standing inside it. Opal raised her hands more and the bubble floated a little. She landed back on the grass and with one finger, popped the bubble.
“Well done,” Fern said happily.
Opal smiled shyly.
“Thanks.”
“Flare, your turn,” Fern said. Flare clenched his jaw.
What if it goes crazy? What if he thinks it’s too much? What if it’s not enough? Deep breaths, deep breaths.Flare stood up. He was nervous but there was no way he would let it show. He walked to the center of the clearing and loosened his hands which is the process of getting there balled up into fists. He held his chin up and summoned a flame in his hand. He bounced it around for a few seconds before adding his second hand. He twisted it around like a snake and turned it into a ring.Fern doesn’t look impressed!Flare focused and turned the flame ring into a medium sized dragon. Flare had it fly around, spitting tiny flames out of its mouth which Flare made disappear so the forest wouldn’t burn. Once the dragon had flown around plenty, Flare summoned it back and it flew into his hand. He made it disappear, closing his hands together.
“Well done Flare!” Fern exclaimed. “You showed great control of your magic.”
“Really, good job,” Opal said. Relief flowed through him. Flare saw Oaklyn glare at the ground.
What’s his problem?
“Okay, let’s head back. Sir Rodrigues probably has lunch ready,” Fern said. Flare’s stomach growled.
Yes please.When they arrived Flare could tell that everyone was very hungry. Unlike dinner, lunch wasn’t fancy. They were served sandwich bread and a buffet with many different kinds of sandwich ingredients. Meats, cheeses, vegetables and seasonings. Flare made himself a ham sandwich with Swiss cheese and lettuce. He seated himself where he sat for breakfast and ate his sandwich. It tasted quite good, especially because he was extremely hungry. All of the magic had taken the majority of Flare’s energy.
“Once you have finished, go back to your dorm to rest. Afterwards, you are free to practice your magic until dinner.Don’tdo anything stupid, you will have another lesson tomorrow morning,” Fern said. Oaklyn yawned.
“Does magic usually take up this much energy?” he asked.
“I don’t have magic, I wouldn’t know.”
“Then how did you become a mentor? I mean without powers?” Oaklyn pressed. Fern clenched his jaw.
“I no longer roam with the nature tribe… for unfortunate circumstances," he said, looking at Opal briefly. “Now, I’m off, enjoy the lovely day,” he muttered before exiting the room.
“That was weird,” Oaklyn said with a glance at Opal. “Why did he look at you when he said ‘unfortunate circumstances’?”
“Look, I have no idea,” Opal said, not meeting his gaze.
She has ideas…Flare didn’t want to pry so he stood up and left the lunchroom. He headed for the dorm and flopped down on the bed. His waist hurt from the jeans. He took his shoes off and fell back asleep. When he woke up the sun showed it was early evening.Might want to get some practice in…he thought. Flare put his shoes back on and headed outside. Oaklyn and Opal were chatting on a picnic blanket made of flowers. Flare went to the opposite side of the clearing and summoned a flame. He tossed it between hands a couple times before growing bored and stopping. He made the fire disappear and he sat down on the grass. Flare began to fiddle with the leaves. He sat there for a moment. Opal walked up to him and sat down. Flare looked at her.
“Where’s Oaklyn?” he asked.
“He went inside.”
“Oh.”
Flare stared back at the ground.
“Hey, are you okay?” she asked. Flare’s mind buzzed.
Am I?Flare hadn’t thought about himself in a while. He was taught toalwaysact relaxed and that you didn’t need anyone. Flare never knew what he thought about that. No one except Kindle had ever asked him if he was ‘okay’. Emotion swelled up inside him as he thought of his little brother.Is he alive?
“No,” he choked out. Then Flare stood up abruptly and ran inside.
