Morgan Smith was having a terrible day.
Admittedly.
This was not unusual.
Morgan had a remarkable talent for turning ordinary situations into disasters.
Unfortunately.
Today’s disaster involved magic.
A lot of magic.
And a tree.
Several trees.
Actually.
An entire forest.
“Why is the forest glowing?” A terrified traveler asked.
Nobody had an answer.
Not a good one anyway.
At the center of the glowing woods stood a young Kitsune.
Silver-white ears.
Several fluffy tails swaying nervously behind her.
A thick spellbook clutched against her chest.
And a deeply concerned expression.
“…Oops.” The forest responded by exploding.
Not violently.
Which somehow made it worse.
Hundreds of glowing flowers erupted from the ground.
Trees twisted.
Vines climbed everything nearby.
Birds suddenly started singing in perfect harmony.
The entire forest transformed into something out of a fairy tale.
Morgan stared.
The forest stared back.
“…That wasn’t the spell.” Following the Noise Several miles away.
Arthur stopped walking.
“Did you hear that?” Thomas looked up.
“Hear what?” The explosion came a second later.
A burst of green light illuminated the horizon.
Thomas blinked.
Jakel sighed.
Arthur grinned.
“No.” Jakel said immediately.
Arthur pointed toward the forest.
“Something happened.” “Correct.” “We should investigate.” “No.” Thomas looked between them.
Then toward the glowing forest.
Then back toward Arthur.
“He’s going anyway, isn’t he?” “Yes.” Arthur was already walking.
“Of course he is.” Morgan Smith By the time they arrived.
The situation had become significantly stranger.
Flowers covered everything.
Including rocks.
And wagons.
And one very confused cow.
The cow appeared offended.
Arthur couldn’t blame it.
At the center of the chaos stood Morgan.
Attempting to reverse the spell.
This was making things worse.
Every spell produced more flowers.
More vines.
More glowing mushrooms.
Thomas stared.
“…Impressive.” Morgan jumped.
She hadn’t noticed them.
Which was impressive.
Because Jakel was enormous.
“Oh!” She looked relieved.
Then embarrassed.
Then worried.
Then embarrassed again.
The emotions seemed to rotate randomly.
“Hi.” Arthur waved.
“Hello.” A pause.
Another flower exploded from the ground.
Morgan looked at it.
Then looked away.
Pretending it wasn’t there.
Nobody believed her.
The Problem Several minutes later.
Morgan explained.
Or attempted to.
The explanation became increasingly confusing.
Eventually Thomas raised a hand.
“Let me see if I understand.” “Okay.” “You were testing a spell.” “Yes.” “The spell failed.” “Technically.” “The forest exploded.” “Magically.” “The flowers are multiplying.” “Unfortunately.” Thomas nodded.
“I understand.” Morgan brightened.
“Really?” “No.” A Different Kind of Magic While the others spoke.
Leona observed quietly.
Watching Morgan.
Listening.
Thinking.
Eventually she spoke.
“Arthur.” “What?” “She’s talented.” Arthur blinked.
That surprised him.
Leona rarely complimented anyone.
“What makes you say that?” A pause.
Then: “Because the spell should have killed her.” Arthur nearly choked.
“What?” “It collapsed halfway through casting.” Leona sounded thoughtful.
“Most mages would’ve lost control completely.” Arthur looked toward Morgan.
The Kitsune was currently apologizing to a flower.
The flower seemed confused.
Arthur became confused too.
Leona sighed.
“She’s an idiot.” “That’s mean.” “But she’s a very talented idiot.” Arthur supposed that was a compliment.
Probably.
The Solution Fixing the forest took hours.
Most of those hours involved Morgan apologizing.
Repeatedly.
To everyone.
Including the trees.
Eventually.
With Arthur’s help.
Thomas’ encouragement.
Jakel’s patience.
And Morgan’s admittedly impressive magical skill.
The spell stabilized.
The glowing flowers stopped spreading.
The forest gradually returned to normal.
Mostly.
Some glowing mushrooms remained.
Nobody knew why.
Morgan promised to study them later.
Which worried everyone.
The Invitation Night fell.
A campfire crackled softly.
The four travelers sat together.
Exhausted.
Satisfied.
And slightly covered in pollen.
Arthur looked toward Morgan.
“Where are you headed?” Morgan thought about it.
Then shrugged.
“I don’t know.” Arthur blinked.
“That’s your plan?” “Mostly.” Thomas laughed.
Jakel groaned.
Arthur smiled.
For some reason.
That answer sounded familiar.
Morgan poked the fire thoughtfully.
Then looked toward Arthur.
“What about you?” Arthur’s answer came immediately.
“I want to unite humanity.” Silence followed.
A very long silence.
Morgan stared.
Then: “Oh.” Another pause.
“That’s ambitious.” Thomas nearly fell over laughing.
Jakel looked toward the stars.
Seeking patience.
The stars remained unhelpful.
Morgan continued thinking.
Then smiled.
A warm.
Curious smile.
“Can I come with you?” Arthur blinked.
“That’s your response?” “Sure.” Morgan nodded.
“You seem interesting.” Leona immediately groaned.
“There’s two of them now.” Arthur laughed.
Morgan laughed.
Thomas joined in.
Even Jakel smiled.
And just like that.
The road became a little less lonely.
Arthur Pendragon.
Jakel Baker.
Thomas Smith.
Morgan Smith.
Four travelers.
Four future founders.
Walking toward a future none of them could yet see.
And somewhere deep within Aethelion.
Leona watched quietly.
A strange feeling settling in her chest.
For the first time in a very long time.
The future didn’t feel quite so lonely.
End of Chapter 11