Age: 14
Words: 2256

So this is the first novel I really started getting into in terms of writing. I made it about 34k words in and 124 Google doc pages but I haven't written anything for it since like my Sophomore or maybe Junior year. This is just the first chapter that introduced everyone to like the main crew of Andrea, Mya, Yosef, Imogene, and slightly Edwidge. It's not good but I was very proud of it at the time lmao

"We can't just let them control us, My Lord!" Andrea yelled out, her face flushed red with anger as sweat rolled down her temples. She had been at the Grand Council for hours, trying to build up her case against the vermin that had taken over Gaea. "We must reclaim our land and rid it of these monsters!"

"Miss Maler, we cannot just declare war on the Catarrhini," the King of the mage faction told Andrea sternly.

"They are weak, no match for our powers!" Andrea tried to convince him, though it seemed her arguments fell on deaf ears. "If we work with the Witches and Warlocks, maybe even the Faerie-"

"You are talking even more nonsense than before, Miss Maler. As I said before, and I will say again, we cannot just declare war. Especially without viable reason!" The King shouted at the Mage, leaning over the large canopy table in front of him. His dark face had a tinge of red to it and his violet eyes were wide with anger. "Do not, ever, mention this ridiculous idea to me or anyone else again. Get it out of your head, Miss Maler," he said, calming himself down and leaning back in his chair.

"Viable reason!? They have taken over our home, forced us into hiding, and you want to just sit back and do nothing!" She was angry, her face redder than before, and it was quickly growing darker as she stared at her apparently incompetent leader. Didn't he understand that the Catarrhini had to be eradicated? Their control over Gaea had gone on for far too long!

They appeared in this planet thousands and thousands of years ago, and when they had first arrived, everyone had thought them weak, and left them alone. Thinking they would realize fairly quickly who was superior to them, and at first, they did. But time went by, and the Catarrhini grew far too fearful of them and knew that they would not be safe with them alive.

These vermin rallied together, created weapons and went after whoever had control over where they lived. Whether it be the Mages, the Witches, and Warlocks, the Faeries, the Kobold, the Aziza, or the Trauco; the Catarrhini made it their goal to wipe them out. And for the most part, they were unsuccessful, but somehow, they had managed to do it. Those weak little vermin had managed to run the magikals into hiding, where they continued to hunt them down.

For hundreds of thousands of years, the Catarrhini hunted and killed magikals, that eventually, they had grown into fiction. No one believed in magic anymore, and Andrea believed now, after over two hundred thousand years, it was time to fight back against the ones who had killed so many of her kind and other magikals.

She couldn't let it go on for any longer.

She couldn't continue to keep hiding in the shadows as they destroyed her once healthy planet.
Not anymore. It had to end.

So here she stood, Andrea Maler in the Grand Council of Mages, standing in front of the King and his most trusted advisers, fighting for hers and all the other magikal's freedom. The obsidian room shone a dark purple, the Council and King sitting aloft on a smooth lilac fabric, magically holding up everyone as though it were a bench. In front of them flew another fabric, waving through the air yet complete stable. Large tapestries hung behind them, of past Kings and Queens and some other highly important members of the previous Grand Councils.

Large windows hung from the ceilings; not against the walls, yet they still let the beautiful sunlight through, casting a warm light into the eerie purple room. The arched windows hung feet from the walls, suspended in midair. Sunlight seeped through both sides of the massive windows; six on each side of the room.

The back of the room was bare, sans the windows. The walls were blank, and there were no fabrics to hold up the others in the room, nor were there chairs on the ground. The Mage had only one choice, and that was to stand in the almost barren room. Only the floor and the back wall held decor; the back wall held the tapestries, and the floor held an engraving. It was an intricate design, that if looked at closely enough, you could see a story being told. The carving swam along the floor, moving in a permanent loop beneath Andrea's feet as she stared up at the Grand Council, more importantly, the King.

"I said, to get this silly idea out of your head, Miss Maler. If I hear another peep about it out of you, I will have you detained. Now, leave." The King said one final time, Andrea pulling at his last straw.

Now, Andrea, not one to back down and give up, opened her mouth to continue her case but was promptly quieted by the King. He waved his open hand in a circle, before pinching his index finger and thumb together. Purple electricity shot out of his hands and wove through the air.

It sent little sparks through the air as it sped towards its destination: Andrea. The energy hit her straight in the face, covering her light features in a purple sheen, effectively keeping her mouth closed. "Meeting adjourned!" The King shouted and Andrea was escorted out of the court chamber, continuing to fight the Mage Guard on her way out.

She may not have been able to speak, but she could still fight. Andrea wiggled around in the Mage Guard's hold, yet he was far stronger than her. He easily escorted her out of the Grand Council, King's spell dissipating as soon as she passed through the threshold of the Grand Council. The door slowly closed behind her and the Mage Guard, the King and his Council still sitting on their fabricated chairs. Yet, before the doors closed, Andrea spun around, "Coward! You're too afraid of the mortal vermin! YOU COWARD!!"

***

On the other side of the Mage village known as Æconmi, beautiful music filled a small home. Mya sat, hunched over her ancient cello, and moved her bow back and forth across the strings. Her body swayed with the bow, as the lovely, calm melody rang out of the wood. Her eyes were closed as she lost herself in the music.

The bow moved lightly across the A string, a light, high-pitched noise escaping the confines of the cedar wood. The light happy music, quickly turned dark as Mya moved her bow to the G-string and started playing harshly. Pressing down roughly against the thick string as she quickly moved the bow back and forth.

The deep, guttural noise echoed through the room as she moved her fingers up and down the fingerboard at an impossibly fast pace. The bow moved back and forth between the G and C string, a blur to anyone who had the luck to witness it.

A haunting melody filled the room as she played the beautiful instrument. It echoed through the empty room. Wooden floors, empty walls made completely of mirrors. The only way out was the glass door in front of her. Mya lived with her best friend, who was currently at the market. Mya Knight was considered one of the more useless mages; at least defense wise. In the minds of everyone else, how the hell was playing an instrument supposed to protect you. You wouldn't even have enough time to do anything before you were attacked and most likely killed.
The same could be said for her best friend; Yosef Manor.

Everyone thought the two were silly. How could a mage who used an instrument as a source of power, and a mage who used dancing- of all thing- as a source of power, possibly be that powerful. It was completely ridiculous in the minds of all the other mages. The wind mages, and the storm mages, the lightning mages; everyone found them completely odd. Any art mage, really, was considered weak and lesser.

Their powers were insignificant to all of the others. Some got annoyed, but most didn't care. They were happy with their powers and the peaceful lives they held. Yosef and Mya being some of these people.

So now, as Yosef returns from the market and Mya finishes her song, they are in complete bliss, not worrying at all what the other mages thought of them and their powers because they knew for a fact that they were powerful. And, in the end, they'd surprise them all with their magnificent powers.

***

"This is a bad idea, Imogene, we should just turn back now." Azalea desperately looked back at her best friend.

"No, they deserve it," said Imogene, completely annoyed by Azalea at this moment. The teen girl had been begging and begging for Imogene to just turn back and ignore her bullies. Azalea had said that it would be pointless and just get the girl into more trouble. And, no matter how right Azalea was, Imogene would ignore her and go through with her plan anyways.

She was tired of the bullies.

They continuously picked on her and others that didn't deserve it whatsoever.
She was going to take a stand, and nothing Azalea said could change her mind. So, here she stood, in front of her bully's home, spray paint in each hand as she and Azalea prepared to break into the large home in front of them.

"I can't believe you're doing this," Azalea said under her breath, slightly panicking.

The brunette turned to Azalea with a smirk. "You mean, 'I can't believe we're doing this'," she corrected. "Last I checked you were right beside me," she winked at the panicking brunette. "Now," she unzipped the bag on Azalea's back and pulled out a can of black spray paint. She zipped it up and tossed the can at Azalea, who barely caught it, "Let's go get our revenge."

She set forward towards the large mansion in front of her.

The large stone and polished wood home in front of her belonged to one of the most powerful people in Æconmi, the Ferrers. They were very close to the King, and a majority ended up serving him as his personal guard. It was a legacy that the family held, a majority of them being on the higher end of the spectrum, power-wise, at least. For the most part, that was where all the members had landed a career; the family business if you will.

A few didn't stick to the family path, but most did.

They lived in a magnificent house made completely out of stone and wood. Large arched windows lined the front of the house, double doors stood at the end of their walkway. The three story tall home was completely dark, which meant either nobody was home, or everybody was asleep. Looking up at the crescent moon above her, Imogene could assume everyone was asleep.

The two teens quietly stalked up to the house. Azalea glanced nervously back and forth, hoping and praying that no one was looking as Imogene sized up the house. The brunette promptly dropped her spray paint and quickly tied up her hair in a tight ponytail.

As she picked up the spray paint, she looked back at Azalea, "Can you get us inside?"

"What?" Azalea whispered-shouted, trying not to draw attention to the illegal act they were about to perform.

"What do you mean, what?" Imogene rolled her eyes, "We're going inside." She quickly shook her spray paint for emphasis. The metal ball inside the can shook loudly, causing Azalea's eyes to widen in worry.

"Stop that!" She whispered worriedly.

"Stop what?" Said Imogene at a normal voice level, as she shook the can harder, emitting a louder noise from the can.

"Fine!" Azalea shouted, quickly throwing her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide in fear as they darted around the premises. "Take my hand." She slowly withdrew her hand from her mouth and held it out for Imogene to take.

"Why, thank you." A cocky smile made its way onto her face.

"Shut up," Azalea grumbled, completely aggravated by her best friend. Her brown eyes darted around suspiciously once more before taking in a deep breath. She gazed up at the balcony above them and closed her eyes, drawing in a concentrated breath as she furrowed her brow. As she let out the breath, a gargantuan gust of wind lifted the teens up into the air, their hair blew harshly around their heads.

The wind carried them up a little too far, before abruptly dispersing, dropping them harshly onto the balcony. They fell fast, the spray paint falling out of their hands and clattering onto the balcony, their bodies following soon after.

Groans escaped their lips as their backs connected harshly to the floor of the balcony. "Lea!" Imogene shouted angrily at the wind mage, glaring at the brunette who lay on the balcony; pain etched into her face.

"Sorry, Gene."

"May I help you?"

The two girls looked up towards the balcony doors, spotting a man with light brown hair and a five o'clock shadow. His arms were crossed over his chest, a journal clutched between them. He looked down at the spray paint cans at his feet before looking each girl in the eyes, quirking an eyebrow.

"Hi, Mr. Ferrer," Imogene waved as she sat up carefully, "How's your night been? Did we wake you?"