MODERN MAGICS. Tianyu (Tony) Zhu

      Chapter 1.1

      Life was hard then: the Lessers had no real home in this world.

      The scarring words of “inferior” and “weaker” were imprinted on the Lessers since their waking.

      Labeled as one out of the three population groups, the Lessers dwelled in either one of two magic-centered societies, one was named Akarthia, the home of the witches, the other was named Anasthuus, the home of the sorcerers. They were not accepted by the other two groups who also shared these homes, the Pureblood and the Outsiders.

      They were neither accepted by the simple-minded Outsiders because they had magic, so they deemed them to be different.

      Nor by Pureblood mages for having inferior, tainted magic, due to their mixed blood.

      The Purebloods accepted the Outsiders. They perceived Outsiders as non-threatening because they had no magic. And best of all, the Outsiders were very cooperative, because they knew their place.

      But even though the Purebloods thought the Lessers to be a weaker species, they couldn’t help but be cautious. Even though the magic most Lessers had were weaker than those of a Pureblood, the thought of a Lesser possibly having enough potential to surpass a Pureblood’s power was disgusting to them. This opinion was so widespread to the point where the majority of the population deemed it unacceptable.

      And thus, they needed to contain the Lessers.

      In a world where one’s magic capabilities determined one’s path, a Lesser’s fate lay in the hands of the fully-awoken, power-hungry Akarthian government, who unanimously decided to dump them into the Shelters, which were these prison-like boarding schools situated in the middle of nowhere. The Lessers quickly gave into the Shelters’ brutal environmental conditions and oppression by the people who were supposed to be their peers.

      Yet, there were certain individuals who resisted it.

      No one else was brave enough to rebel against an entire system, except the determined few, one of which, who led the charge, was sixteen years-old Damian Asher.

      He relentlessly stood up and fought against the Shelters’ brutality. He led a group called the Roamers, who ultimately longed to not only escape from the Shelter, but also from the corrupt influence of the Pureblood Akarthian government.

      Damian was dragged out of his home in an Akarthian city at a very young age and thrown into one of these shelters. He was deemed a Lesser because of his Pureblood father and Outsider mother. Only an intercross between these two people groups would create a Lesser child. Damian didn’t even know who his father was, as he had left the family before he was born, but it seemed to be the reason why his mother used to be angry and violent with him all the time.

      Among the shelters, which were already in a state of disrepair, Sister Bierner’s Shelter was the worst of the worst. Although the other Sisters were not much better, Bierner’s extreme irresponsibility and cruelty went unchecked by any and all inside Akarthia.

      Inside this harsh environment, it was made clear that these Shelters nothing like boarding schools for young children and adolescents. It was a place where Lessers struggled and fought to survive. Security flowed in and out of the building constantly, changing shifts to keep Lessers in check. The teachers they had were strict to the harshest degree. They punished the children for making the slightest mistake, all the while beating it into their heads about how wonderful and advanced the society of mages were, and why they couldn’t rejoin this society yet because of how inferior they were compared to them.

      Although a majority of the Outsiders were friendly enough, a few handpicked bullies dominated the school grounds, threatening any who got in their way with punishment. These would usually be the smug, older teenagers, or even some of the more unruly staff members.

      And these were not some minor, mundane punishments like staying to talk with the teacher or not being allowed to go outside.

      No, a typical punishment would be banishment from the Shelter for a couple of hours, maybe even days, during a sandstorm with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Damian has seen many people break under the brutal conditions that the staff had purposefully set up for them. Their arms and legs were scratched and scarred from the sizable specks of sand in the dusty wind. They would claw at the barbed metal gate, desperately trying to climb back into the Shelter, where it was protected from these conditions by a magical barrier made from air.

      The victims of these vicious punishments had never dared talk back again. It seemed as if they had changed as a person, with all of their determination and spirit drained from their eyes, leaving only a docile and timid fragment of who they once were behind.

      Damian withheld his anger as he was struck by the Sister. She looked down at him as she brought her hand down on his face again, and again, and again.

      “Don’t ever talk back,” she hissed out as she kicked Damian back into his seat and towered over him, “You don’t have the right to speak up here.” She spat into his face as she walked back to the front of the room.

      The other Lessers glanced at Damian worriedly, whispering amongst each other.

       When will he learn?

       Why does he always cause trouble?

       Why does he oppose Sister Bierner so much?

      The rumours and questions spread throughout the classroom again, and even though most were wrong. Damian didn’t bother correcting them. It was no use trying to convince these people about anything. With how they’ve been acting, grouping themselves together and pushing out the rest, the timid ones wouldn’t have the courage to ever stand up to Bierner. They quieted themselves immediately, as Bierner casted a glare on them.

      Soon. Damian thought as he settled down again, the stinging pain on his cheek made him ever so clear of what will happen in just a few days.

      And so, he endured patiently. Until the time was right.

      Chapter 1.2

      The harsh sun shone above the Roamers as they emerged outside of the shelter’s main building. Lunch had just started. Damian and the Roamers were making their way across the fenced-in campus, where the only things in sight were the tall security towers that stood high above them, armed with spotlights, which the Shelter staff used to scare the shelter kids into staying.

      Even less acceptable were the tall, barbed fences in the distance that encircled the entire Shelter, which were built just a few weeks ago. They were “precautions” introduced by the Akarthians responsible for the treatment of all the Outsiders, in response to another group of Roamers who had run away in the middle of the night and who were now missing.

      Ever since those metal bars in the distance were raised, Damian has been endlessly anxious about escaping. This new enforcement was the final straw that had led Damian and the Roamers to formulate an escape plan.

      Damian knew what those despotic government officials were doing, and so did many other shelter kids: they were slowly increasing the confinement levels of the Shelters. Many of the people inside Damian’s group were too young to understand, who ranged between the ages of nine to fourteen. Nobody wanted to care for them, too troubled and timid in their own fight against the corrupt management, leaving the younger kids vulnerable.

      “Hey Damian! Where are we going?” A high-pitched voice shook Damian out of his thoughts. He looked down as one of the little ones from his group approached him.

      Damian smiled, “That spot. You know - the secret hideout we discovered last time?” The little Roamer’s eyes lit up in joy as he nodded and walked back to chat with his friends. His smile was replaced subconsciously by a cautious frown the moment he walked out of sight.

      Minutes later, Damian approached the place where the Roamers have gone to eat lunch recently - an old and broken-down building at the far side of campus grounds, most likely to be removed sooner than later. Damian opened the door and coughed as a wave of dust scattered into the air. Inside, most of it has already