A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

Falling to your death wasn't so bad. The mellow breeze uplifting into empty pockets of space and the silent echoes of birds chirping in the distance made the fall a soothing ride in the park. Atlas pictured days from his youth when jumping into the mysterious depths of a crystal clear lake, located deep within a small forest on a warm summer's day. The descent into the depths of fresh water had the same effect. Swallowing you into a canvas, depriving you of any oxygen with every second closer and closer to your last.

The longer Atlas waited and waited, nothing happened. Opening his eyes, he realized his feet were on the ground, knees slightly bent, and a few cracks in the pavement below him that were previously not there. The energy abandoned his lower body, only to invite a severe crash of nothing but fatigue and weakness

Confused, tired, and sweating, Atlas looked at Calvin, asking, "What.. Just happened?"

"You my friend, Used your magic. It seems like you lack experience, but have great potential. The contingency of what can happen is up to you." He paused, waiting for Atlas to recollect his thoughts, "Based on what Ms.Henzy had told me, you never wanted to fight back. You always just took the thoughts of being below others and never strived to achieve being better. However, now you have the opportunity to change. I cannot say for sure what magic you possess, but you will apply to Princewood. And that's not a question," Calvin proceeded to pull out the application sheet to the greatest magic school in the world.

Atlas was still panting, still trying to escape the negative thoughts crawling around his brain. "Thanks for the complimenting words, but I'm completely exhausted after that, I've never been able to use so much magic before and there is no way I could do that again unless I were to rest. I also don't even understand my magic, is there even a name for it?"

"HAHA! I was waiting for you to ask that. You're magic is very unique. I'm sure you'll find out more about it in the future, because I honestly don't know what it is either. As of now, the physical exam starts in two months for Princewood, during this time I will help you strengthen and train your magic. However, on one condition. You can never tell anyone you know me, or ever saw me before. Mainly because if you did, well… I would be in a lot of trouble, and also for your sake as well."

Atlas was finally beginning to form a smile, with a few red flags tucked away behind it "Sounds good to me. You have my word! So, when do we begin?" Atlas jumped in excitement. He could feel the negativity vanish, as if it was never even there. After so many years of taking nonsense and shit from others, Atlas slowly developed a negative outlook on his surroundings despite being such an outgoing kid.

"Since you have finals coming up next week, I won't bother you. After finals you will have exactly two months before most students your age go to an Alchemy school or University. Sorry to inform you, but your last summer break will not be fun," He clapped his hands together to make sure Atlas was paying attention, "Meet me at the Maverick woods, Saturday at noon, and don't bring anything with you," Calvin said in a very serious, demanding voice as he spoke to Atlas.

"Okay! Oh and by the way, how did you make them all just collapse with no effort at all?" Atlas said a little nervously as he pointed towards David and the others lying on the floor.

"Oh that simple trick? All I did was just snap my fingers to cause a nervous psychiatric pulse through their heads, knocking them out cold. Now then, sign this and I will see you in a week."

Atlas was very confused about the situation and Calvin's magic but signed the application sheet. Instantly, the piece of paper burst into bright flames and disappeared as his name rose from the ashes of the burnt paper into the air, vanishing into dust along with the falling ashes.

Atlas was a little shocked by the unexpected flames, looking back towards Calvin's direction to see him already gone from the scene. Atlas noticed that there was no time to be standing around daydreaming, especially with David starting to wake back up from whatever trauma he was in. Atlas booked it out of there as fast as he could and was finally able to head home with a slight smile on his face.

He could feel a flurry of different emotions running through him, like a kid going back home from his first day of school.

Before Atlas even knew it, a week had gone by, and it was a Saturday morning with clear skies and a perfect day to participate in outdoor activities. An early morning breeze flew through the morning grass, scared off by the bright rays of sunlight lighting the streets like fire.

Atlas walked to the woods at noon, assuming he was supposed to see training equipment, fake dummies to beat, or even some strange technology he's never seen before.

Sure enough, after about 5 minutes of walking, a clearing was beginning to form with a man standing in the middle. As Atlas came closer and closer he was able to make out his surroundings. A grassy clearing surrounded by trees began to paint itself for his visual delight. Gentle gusts of wind rattled the grass, moving them like shallow waves on the sea. The smell of fresh flowers bloomed through the clearing, adding a scent of fresh lavender and wellness to the atmosphere. Small wildlife scattered off as they sensed Atlas approach, creating a few natural nature noises that were quite pleasant to hear.

The sunlight was shining so bright as it nearly reflected off the early summer grass, creating a truly magnificent masterpiece to the n.a.k.e.d eye. In the middle of all this beauty, Calvin stood motionless in the center of the clearing, taking in the surrounding along with Atlas.

He greeted Atlas politely as he saw him approach, "Ah, right on time, already off to a good start!"

"Don't tell me you're surprised, why would I be late on my first day?" Atlas chuckled sarcastically.

"Of course you wouldn't. Now, you're training will take place every day at exactly this time in this exact spot for the next month. So, here is your first lesson. All you have to do is simply punch this tree." Calvin explained while pointing to a very tall, old looking tree with leaves covering the skies above.

"Are you serious? Come on, I didn't come here for jokes."

"Once you are fully able to punch this tree with barely any effort, you will be granted your next lesson."

Atlas replied very sarcastically, "Ok sure, I guess I'll punch this tree." Atlas proceeded to grip his fist so tight as if he was squeezing a cannonball, throwing a pathetically weak punch at the old brown bark, only to be greeted by a sharp pain ringing through his hand, "OWWWW! Are you trying to paralyze me!"

Calvin laughed uncontrollably, "You idiot. Use your magic in your strikes, don't just punch with your hand."

Atlas nodded in response while shaking off the pain, prepared to be placed in combat with the tree once more. Just as before, all concentration was on the tip of his right hand, clenched into a solid fist. He saw exactly where the strike would hit, expecting his knuckles to feel the blow the most. However, the result he was expecting never occurred.

A small piece of tree bark flew off into pieces as his fist collided with the sturdy oak. A small dent was successfully made into the wood, with a few pieces sprinkled on the grass. Atlas looked up at Calvin, talking in a confused tone of voice, "I don't understand, I barely felt any pain. All I could feel is.." he paused for a moment while looking at his bruised fist, "magic."

"Correcto mi amigo!" Calvin paused for a second to realize how cringey he just sounded for being the a.d.u.l.t in the situation, "When you use magic to your advantage, your entire body can withstand a lot more damage than you could imagine... Now then, do it again."

Atlas proceeded to repeat multiple strikes to the tree until it was finally able to fall over. However, the entire day had flown by during this parade of tree-hitting. It was already night time by the time of the tree fall, and Atlas was covered in dirt, mud, and dry sweat with his fists covered in his own dry blood and bruises.

Atlas fell over, barely being able to make out a sentence as he was lying on the ground, "This. Is. Exhausting." With tremendous amounts of acc.u.mulated fatigue, his eyes couldn't stay open any longer, closing on him as he laid flat in the beaten grass below.

Calvin stood over him and said, "You did good kid. And yet, you have much to learn."

Atlas woke up the next morning in his bed with all his injuries almost fully gone, greeted by his mother standing at his bedroom door.

His mother raised her voice slightly with worriedness, "Atlas! Where in the hell were you yesterday! I was worried sick for you until I found you lying unconscious outside of our door. Did those kids have something to do with this? Because if so then I'm calling the principle to-" Before she could finish her sentence, Atlas quickly interrupted her, "Mom! Everything's fine, I was just a little late with my friends and fell on my way back home, trust me, I'm fine."

"Well... I at least want to know if you're planning to be out past 6pm Atlas, you know how much I worry about you." She hugged him hard and proceeded, "Anyways, breakfast is on the table, it's noon and you're just now waking up! Hurry up, I'll be waiting downstairs."

Atlas instantly sprung up from the bed, "IT'S ALREADY NOON? Oh no, Mom it's a long story but I gotta go!" Atlas threw on his clothes faster than the speed of light as he panicked, managing to grab a golden brown banana as he bolted out of the door on his way to the woods. His mother couldn't even stop him as he was already out the door and down the street before she could even react. Atlas hurried to the same spot as yesterday, managing to arrive 15 minutes late. However, there was no sign of Calvin anywhere. All that Atlas managed to find was a dagger that sprung up a letter on the fallen tree from the previous day.

The letter said, "Atlas, I apologize but I must leave for business reasons. Your training is now in your own two hands, with nothing stopping you but your own will. You know what you are capable of, but do not push yourself. Keep your magic steady and try to control it as much as you can. Good Luck, -Calvin."

Atlas was shocked by the news, but with his dream to go to that school, and knowing the only thing that would be stopping him from reaching his dream was himself, he knew what he had to accomplish. Days after days, and weeks after weeks went by as Atlas came to the forest every single day without any extrinsic help until the final day before the application exam for Princewood Academy. Atlas headed towards the woods one final time as he looked down at his hands, seeing nothing but scars and poorly healed wounds filled with memories instead of pain. Bandages covered most of his progression, but he knew he couldn't overwork himself today. Today was the day he really showed himself what he's learned and capable of from the grievous days of punching trees.

As he was approaching the woods one last time, he saw David and his posse approaching with wide smiles on their faces. Atlas had nowhere to run as David was already inches away from his face as he said, "Well, well, well. Look who it is - a little worm that's come out of hiding from mommy's house."

Atlas looked up with a straight face and said, "What do you want David? I have somewhere to be."

David and his posse all turned to each other and in unison as they never expected atlas to talk balk, "Oooooooo."

David spoke up by himself, "Well, let's see here, The list of names was published at the MAC of all the students attempting to apply to Princewood. And it just might be that I saw your disgusting name on there. That really pisssed me off, but on the bright side, I get to absolutely destroy you in the physical exam." He took his index finger, stabbing into Atlas's collar bone, "I don't care what the rules are, I will crush you like a bug in front of thousands of people as they see what real strength is. So I won't touch you this time, but I'm sending a warning, be prepared to be in the hospital for the rest of your life." He finished his sentence by walking past Atlas as he purposely made him fall over from pushing him with his massive shoulder.

Atlas put his head down, entering the forest as he remembered that David was still a problem. As he approached his usual spot, he was shocked as he saw Calvin standing in the middle once more. A bright smile shot across Atlas's face as he quickly ran up to him.

Calvin greeted Atlas, "I saw what just happened back there. Your choice to avoid violence was the right move. This world can be a cruel place sometimes, and violence isn't always inevitable. But when it is, that is always the right call. I cleared their memories of the ally incident so don't worry about that, but what's more important is your progression. 48 days ago in this exact same spot you were nothing but a pebble that was thrown at trees, now you are an axe, ready to cut through anything in your path and partially prepared for the future that is yet to come." He said as he looked around at the mounds of beaten tree bark, broken oak trees lying across the ground, and the clearing that was once a simple grass circle, tripled in size with the mass covered by the surrounding nature.

Atlas looked at his hands as he replied, "Thanks, but I would never have done this if it wasn't for your support. I've never been more in touch with myself or my magic as I am now. I can even focus my magic to different parts of my body, and use it as an advantage." He clenched his fists like a superhero, "it's really incredible."

"I'm proud of you, and I want you to be prepared for the physical exam, especially when you already have a few enemies that will stop at nothing to see your demise. I'm going to give you this," Calvin reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out a small book, containing around 300 pages or so in very small print. He proceeded to explain, "This is called a Magic Index. It contains a long history of magic passed down from generation to generation. An Alphabetical order of all kinds of magic and what some can do."

Atlas started flipping pages as quickly as possible, seeing names of magic he's never even thought to exist. Hacking. Hellion, Hindsight…

"I leave this to you as a gift. I have a strong feeling we'll meet again Atlas."

Before Atlas could thank him, Calvin was already gone, only leaving his footprints and the journal in Atlas's hands behind.

Confused, but excited, Atlas started running home to hide the journal, to think something so unreal could even exist, he thought to himself. As he approached his house, he realized he had a sealed envelope in his mailbox with his name on it. He grabbed it, sprinting to his room to open it. Once the envelope split open, a piece of paper that had the same handwriting as Calvins showed up which said, "I'll be watching you tomorrow. Good Luck."

Atlas knew it was Calvin, just from the writing alone, feeling wholesome as he started thinking about his trial tomorrow. He drifted off to bed as he stared at the ceiling above while counting metaphorical sheep to help his slumber.

Atlas quickly realized it was already morning as his eyes popped open, with the sun blazing through his curtains for a wake up call. He was greeted by his mother again with a concerned look on her face, "Atlas, honey, a man in a black suit came to our house this morning to give me a sealed envelope that had your name on it. I can't even remember his face, or even if he had one…" the look on her face looked concerning, "I'm very scared about this."

Atlas quickly realized what it was as he opened the envelope. The paper read, "Atlas Bright. 10 am. Maverick Train station. With regards, -Princewood." Atlas quickly realized this was where he needed to be for the exam as he anxiously looked at the time, only for it to reveal that it was already 9:30 am. He knew he couldn't be late for this as he grabbed a quick banana for breakfast, proceeding to run to the front door.

Atlas's mother was blocking the exit with a worried look pasted on her face. She looked at Atlas and said, "Atlas, honey, I don't know what made you want to apply to Princewood. But I'm proud of you. I want you to push and work hard like you did in the past. You never seemed to exceed my expectations of you, I just want you to be careful, and I want to wish you the best of luck."

A small look of concern a mother gets for her children appeared on her face, with a soft smile forming on her delightfully precious face. Atlas walked up to her, giving her a smile that only a mother and son can cherish as he hugged her tightly. "Don't worry mom, I'm done losing, I applied to win, I'll only return if I become a Princewood student. I swear it."

With no time to waste, he headed straight towards the town's train station, roughly being a 15 minute bike ride away from his house. He grabbed his bike from the back and pedaled like never before until he reached the station. Hundreds of kids from his grade were piled at the front entrance waiting to go in. Of course, Rina and David were both there as well. However, Atlas also saw Clouse and started to get a little relieved as he began to head straight towards his best friend.

Atlas greeted Clouse with a grin on his face, "Hey, Clouse! I almost forgot you were taking the exam too."

Clouse was surprised, "Atlas? I thought you weren't even going to apply to an Alchemy school, let alone Princewood! What the hell changed your mind?"

"Let's just say it took a little encouraging to make me do this."

They both shared a few laughs but before they had a chance to say another word, a very loud, and deep voice projected through the air, "Hello! Students of Maverick, I am the grandmaster of Princewood School of Magical Brilliance. I am certain that you all might have a lot of questions, so I will do my best to explain everything that's about to come. Please, pass through the gates you see in front of you."

Without questioning the mysterious voice, all the students entered the large steel gates that sealed off the train station. The sunlight reflected off the solid beams, giving off the seamless presentation of gates to paradise. All masked by the smell of old concrete and rustles of dry dust off the ground.

As they passed through the gates, they noticed there were no signs of any trains anywhere in the station. All the kids knew what the station looked like before, but today, it was completely different. It looked like they walked into a mansion. Pale, yet dark wooden pillars held up the monastery-like ceiling, standing firmly on the obsidian covered floor. The walls were sculptured in fine rock, presenting the ambience of an ancient palace with unimaginable design and detail. A large, velvet rug was placed on the floor from the beginning of the gates, to the end of the so called "station." All the students were in awe and proceeded to follow the rug until they reached a row of large metal doors with golden handles ready to be pulled.

The same voice started talking as the students reached the doors, "Before you pass through, leave all your belongings here. And once you enter, you cannot turn back."

All the students looked at each other with confusion, fear, and shock. While David and his crew drew big smiles on their faces as they locked eye contact with Atlas and Clouse. David motioned with his mouth "You're dead," as he pointed towards Atlas with that horrific smile stitched on his face.

As all the students left their bags and everything else they had on them in the lobby, the voice from before announced, "You may enter!"

The students began to follow suit as Atlas and Clouse proceeded to open the large metal door in front of them. As the door opened, they couldn't see anything except a bright light that was almost blinding to the human eye. Atlas covered his face with his arm and stepped through the door, nearly going blind from the severe pressure of brightness in his eyes. As he shut his them closed, he could tell that the atmosphere around him had changed, slowly persihing the light from moments ago.

Atlas opened his eyes, shot with pure disbelief. Not fully comprehending the situation at first, but as soon as he took his first step on the soft soil he realized he was in a bountiful and flourishing wheat field. As he looked around, he started to picture the scene in front of him with all the other students including Clouse standing to his right. They were all in a small circle, like the one in his training, except instead of the trees there were millions of 10 foot tall, thick wheat leaves surrounding the area. No matter where Atlas looked there were no signs of doors or any possible explanation of how they got there.

The old smell of concrete vanished, only to be replaced by that of a farm, soothing away with the gentle swings of wheat in the mellow field.

As everyone looked around, the loud voice followed them into the field from the station, "Welcome to the 112th annual physical entrance exam to Princewood School of Magical Brilliance."