Finnegan Star's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Finnegan Star wanted to climb the tallest tower in Cattail Maw and learn the forbidden spell hidden at its top. But that morning he stood in the grass, staff raised, and made only a weak spark. The spark fizzled and died. His giant staff was taller than he was, and so far it had done nothing useful. He tried again. He shouted the word he thought was right and swung the staff hard. A puff of smoke coughed out and vanished. His wizard hat slid over his eyes. Finnegan pushed it back and stamped his foot. "You are holding it like a broom," said a voice behind him. Finnegan turned. An old wizard leaned on a small wand near the base of a living tree, its round window glowing gold. This was Aldric Shroud, the oldest wizard in Cattail Maw, the one every child was warned not to bother. His white beard reached his belt. His blue robes were dusted with stars, and he wore sandals in the cold grass. "I have to reach the top of the tower," Finnegan said. "But my staff won't do anything." Aldric snorted. "The tower. Boys always want the tower first and the basics never." He tapped the ground with his wand. "A spell is not shouting. A spell is asking. Stop yelling at the wood." Finnegan lowered the staff. "Then how do I ask?" Aldric whistled once. A tiny white unicorn trotted out from behind the tree. Its horn threw off bright sparks, and small fangs showed when it grinned. "Magic is already everywhere," the old wizard said. "That is where you pull it from. Not from your lungs." He stepped close and set Finnegan's hands on the staff. "Feel the horn's light. Don't grab it. Invite it." The unicorn pressed its sparkling horn against the staff's tip. Finnegan closed his eyes. He stopped trying to force the word out. He pictured the sparks flowing down the wood into his hands, slow and warm. He whispered the word this time, soft as a question. The staff hummed. A ribbon of blue light spun up its length and burst above him in a shower of tiny stars. The stars drifted down and landed cool on his face. He had cast a real spell. "There," Aldric said. He almost smiled. "Now you are a wizard. A very small one." Finnegan laughed and cast it again. The light came easily now. But as the second burst faded, the unicorn's horn flashed a strange red. The tree window went dark. A low rumble rolled across the ground beneath their feet. Aldric's smile dropped. He gripped his wand and stared toward the far tower. "That is the tower answering back," he said quietly. "You woke something. It heard you." Finnegan stood frozen, stars still cooling on his cheeks. He could cast now. And now the tower knew his name.