Skolls. In non-magical Norse mythology it is recorded as being a singular entity, in the form of a titanic black wolf, that chases the sun eternally. Its goal is to catch the sun and bring about armageddon, or ragnarok, to the planes of the so-called ‘nine-realms’.

In reality, skolls are a species of magical wolf standing one and a half metres tall with thick black fur and the ability to generate and control fire, both through their innate magic and via fire sac organs located in and around their digestive system.

They are a difficult beast to tame, but a large pack has been in the control of the Linus family for over three millennia, with smaller packs being owned by many other families. It goes without saying that both the Lycan clans and the Direwolf House control hordes of the beasts, rather than mere packs, as they, like other houses, have a natural affinity for wolves.

~ The Index of Magical Animals Volume 2, Chapter 4, Canidae Family. Written by Carl Linnaeus

Zak looked down from the book at the wand sitting on the table, which apparently contained the claw of a skoll. As soon as he had grasped it he’d felt a connection to the hidden core within himself. It was as if a warm rush of energy had entered his body, and again he’d felt that sensation of violent and calm power in the pit of his stomach.

By now Zak had come up with a theory of what that feeling in the pit of his stomach was. He hypothesised that his magic originated from that spot, and that the various feelings of hot, cold, violent or calm power was magic making its way or originating from this central magic container. He had yet to ask Solaris about this, as he had decided to save up a bank of questions and ask them all at once, as opposed to seeking out the Professor every hour or two whenever he came across another piece of mind blowing trivia.

Regardless, in the last couple of days Zak had gone through more than twenty books, a feat only possible due to his tripled reading speed.

“Little bro” came a loud yet melodic voice from the library entrance. Before Zak could even look up, he had been engulfed in a bone-breaking hug from behind.

“What the hell. Let go of me woman. I can’t breathe” he wheezed out, flailing his legs about as they were dangling slightly in midair.

“Sorry, sorry” laughed Zamfir as she released him. “I’m just so excited, I’ve always wanted a sibling after all. And you’re basically three siblings in one” she beamed.

“Umm, Miss Zamfir, I’m very thankful about you helping to rescue me and my friends. But don’t I get a say in whether your parents adopt me or not” Zak questioned confusedly.

“Pft, not like that silly. Fellow apprentices are considered siblings by magical law. Therefore as we’re both apprenticed under Professor Solaris, that makes you my little brother. I was so excited when Professor Pollux told me just now.”

“Professor Pollox is still here?” Questioned Zak. “I saw him at dinner yesterday, but I didn’t know he was staying over. Also, I haven’t decided whether I’m going to apprentice under Professor Solaris yet. Mainly because I don’t even know what being an apprentice even means. I haven’t reached that book yet” Zak said as he gestured towards the tower of books surrounding him on the table.

“You’ve read all of these already?” Zamfir asked, flabbergasted.

“I’m able to read three times faster, so yeah” Zak shrugged.

“You lucky little runt” she responded enviously.

Zak smiled at the playful banter. The young woman in front of him had a bit too much energy in his opinion, but she emitted a warmth that seemed to compensate for that subjective flaw.

“So Miss Zamfir. Professor Saldor said if I had some questions I could ask you or him about them. Would that be alright?”

“Of course,” she said excitedly. “But stop being so formal would you. I’m seventeen for crying out loud. What’s up with this ‘Miss’ business.”

“Sorry” Zak smiled. “First things first. How the hell does this library work? I've been through the manor three times now and I know for a fact it only has four floors. And I also know that there's a bathroom on the second floor that's on top of the library. But this library has seven floors. I get that the answers probably magic, but seriously, what the hell?”

Zamfir smiled deviously at Zak. “Come with me,” she said.

Zak followed the redhead out of the library and through the manor entrance. It was approaching evening so the sky was lit up a brilliant orange-red.

“No looking back” Zamfir teased as she pulled Zak along until they were a couple paces down the front garden. “Okay” she said excitedly. “Turn around.”

Zak looked at Zamfir weirdly before following her instructions. What he saw when he turned around could only be described as an average looking two floor house.

"Huh" muttered Zak nonplussed.

Zamfir pouted at her young companion's lack of reaction. “I thought you'd be surprised or something,” she complained.

“Well no” smiled Zak. “The 16th edition of Household Charms and Cantrips stated that all rooms in any house can quite easily be expanded to twice their usual volume as long as they were installed with a small ward stone of grade 2 material or higher. I was asking how the library is four times the size of the rest of the manor” he finished casually.

Zamfir looked down at the youth with wide eyes. “You learnt about magic two or three days ago right?” She questioned. “Your not secretly some third year student in disguise are you?”

“Like I said, I read a lot of books,” Zak shrugged. “Mainly about healing and animals mind you, but some common household books as well”

"Well damn” Zamfir smiled. “To answer your question then, this house was commissioned by the Isikhala family from Zulu. They're probably the greatest family in terms of practical applications of spatial magic. Or they’re at least in the top three. Obviously this is quite an expensive option, fitting a whole manor into an ordinary house, as well as having certain areas of the house expanded nearly twenty-fold. But it leaves more room for the gardens, and Professor Sal receives a lot of guests and visitors. Professor Pollux has his own room here because he visits so much.”

“Damn” Zak smirked, copying Zamfir's tone.

“Next question kiddo,” Zamfir urged.

Zak paused before peering sideways at the redhead next to him. “I do have another question, but it might be kind of offensive,” he said slowly.

“No worries, no worries. You can ask your older sister anything” Zamfir said proudly.

“Well, um. What are you exactly?” Zak inquired.

“Huh” Zamfir asked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, your ears are pointy at the top, and you have fangs, and your skins kinda pale, but beyond that you look normal”

“Ohhh” Zamfir said in realisation. “Of course a Newblood would have no idea about Vampires. Well, there’s your answer big guy. I’m a vampire.”

“A what?” Zak repeated, eyebrows furrowed. “A vampire. Like suck your blood and get disintegrated by sunlight vampire” he said with a slightly worried tone.

“No, no” waved off Zamfir. “That’s all non-magic exaggeration based on history from a couple thousand years ago. Long before the magical and non-magical world split up. Yes vampires are weaker in the sunlight and stronger at night, but only by a bit. And yes we drink blood, but it’s mainly animal blood. Only criminals would drink the blood of intelligent species. And remember humans have cannibals too. Just imagine evil vampires like that.”

“Oh” mumbled Zak, embarrassed at having stereotyped. He almost felt racist! “So if vampires exist, what else is out there? And how many vampires are there?” he questioned.

“Well the magical population is around one-hundred million. About thirty percent of that are humans”

“Only thirty percent!” Zak exclaimed in shock.

“Hey, no interrupting,” Zamfir scolded. “And thirty percent is massive, humans are by far the largest group. After that there are the four other major species, which are vampires, lycans, elves and dwarves. Each make up around ten percent of the population. So that's seventy percent so far. The last thirty percent are various smaller races such as giants, dryads, fairies, merpeople, oni and so on.”

Zak was simply rendered speechless - an event which seemed to have occurred more in the last week than in the rest of his life combined. Magic was vast and complex, that was understandable. But the fact that such an array of intelligent species existed was mind blowing.

“What are you two up to?” Came the voice of Solaris as he approached them from the ‘manor’.

“Zak was interested in spatial magic and the various races, Professor” answered Zamfir. “I was just giving him a rundown of, well, the world I guess” grinned Zamfir.

“Good, good. Sorry for leaving you alone for so long Zakaria. Alex was having a few minor managerial issues that I had to aid him with.”

“No problem sir, I mean Sal” Zak smiled. ”I got a lot of reading done and came to a decision about the schools”

“Oh” Solaris murmured, intrigued. “Do tell”.

“Well like you said I’d be a fool not to attend the Azure Academy. It really is almost in a league of its own.”

“Yay” cheered Zamfir. “I’m starting my mastery there this year so I can show you around.”

“Much appreciated,” Zak said appreciatively. “I also agree that attending the Eastern College of Crafting would be wise. With my ability to focus on three things at once, crafting magical items should be easier for me. Also the whole concept of going out and searching for ores and magical ingredients seems fascinating” Zak continued, thinking about the introductory book on crafting he had thoroughly studied just that morning.

“Hmm, I don’t know about it being easier. But you should be able to reach heights most cannot attain in terms of crafting. It’s hard work though'' nodded Solaris.

“In terms of my last pick though. I’m sorry but studying at the Babel School of Life sciences falls more in line with my goals than studying at the Elemental Institute of Magic.”

“Is this about your mother?” Solaris asked sadly.

“What do you know about my mother?” Zak started, alarmed that the man he had only met a few days ago knew about his past.

“When a Newblood decides to join our world, they’re allowed to bring their very close friends and family into the fold,” Solaris explained. “A full background search and profile is also made and submitted to the Monarchs Council for review.”

The regal man waved his hand in the direction of the house and a folder came speeding out a window on the second floor.

“Zakaria Lykorigas Sol. Mother, Avani Luna Sol nee Green. Comatose since July 17th 2017, the same date that the Newblood in question's father, Lykorigas Sol, went missing. Currently in childcare as no known family or friends have been identified” the Professor read from the floating folder. “It says here that you’ve shown an interest in medicine, having signed up for online courses and attending open lectures at various universities regularly” he said as he looked the young man deep in the eye.

“You found all that out in less than 48 hours” Zak asked impressed.

“Magic used well leads to great efficiency” smiled Solaris. “You want to cure your mother” he stated, rather than ask.

“Wouldn’t anyone have that desire” shot back Zak.

“Some wouldn’t have the self belief and work ethic to see it done” replied Solaris. “Some would merely accept the hand dealt to them”

“Well I guess I’m not some people” Zak replied hotly.

“Oh you most certainly are not my dear child” beamed the Professor. “Due to the bad business with the shadow order, I took the liberty of moving your mother to the medical department of the Azure Academy. I would suggest studying the life sciences there rather than at Babel. You will have more control of your mothers treatments if you choose to do so as I have a lot of authority within the Academy. Furthermore, you can trust me when I say that the medical wing of the school is more than equipped to meet your aims”

Zakaria nodded at this. “Thank you for that sir. In that case I’d like to attend the Avalon Fortress of Invention” he smiled cheekily.

Solaris couldn’t help but grin a little. “What happened to attending the Elemental Institute of Magic '' he queried.

“I'd much rather learn about old magic and the development of new spells and rituals. I consider myself a budding scientist, therefore I simply have to attend the school with the word invention in its name” he replied with a fake pompous inflection.

“Well two out of three suggestions being taken is decent work” Solaris relented. “I’ll have the applications done by the end of the day” he said as he led Zakaria and his unusually quiet apprentice back inside.

“Zakaria, two things. Firstly I apologise but I have told Zamfir here about your triple mind ability. She’s my one and only apprentice, and will undoubtedly be a great help to you, but it was your secret to share. I’m sorry” he said, lowering his head.

“No, it's fine. You were the one who told me to keep it a secret in the first place, so I trust your judgement” said Zak.

“Thank you for your trust” Solaris replied warmly. “Secondly, I know I never formally offered you but have you given any thought to becoming my second apprentice?”

“It's like I was telling Zamfir earlier. I don’t exactly know what that entails. I’ve mainly been reading medical journals and compendiums, for reasons you now know I guess” he said.

“Not to worry. The concept is simple enough to grasp. Any individual who has mastered a field of magic can accept up to three apprentices per decade. The tutor then passes on his or her knowledge to their apprentices, in the hopes that they too will master said field of magic. The benefits for the apprentice go without saying, but for the tutor it either gives them the chance to pass on their skills and experience, their legacy if you will, or less nobly, they gain bragging rights and prestige should their apprentice achieve great things. It’s also fundamental that the next generation is educated and can take up the mantle of protectors when us older folk eventually decide to retire,” he explained.

“What about the whole ‘fellow apprentices are siblings’ thing Zamfir mentioned earlier?”

“Well a tutor-apprentice bond is very powerful. You actually have to perform a ritual and submit paperwork to the Monarchs Council for it to be officially recognised. In that regard a tutor is essentially a second parent to the apprentice. In fact if the apprentice is an orphan then the tutor would legally be seen as their adopted parent. Due to this fellow apprentices in effect share a ‘parent’, so are considered siblings. Although obviously they don’t share blood and so are not actual siblings. In fact marriage between fellow apprentices is somewhat common.” He finished.

“Hmm” nodded Zak as he followed Solaris’s detailed explanation. “Zamfir, I know I’m extremely handsome but no falling in love with me,” he joked.

“Please. You're a seven at best sweetie. When you hit thirty and are still single I’ll try to find you someone desperate enough to marry you. As is my duty as a sister” she teased.

Zak couldn’t help but grin at this. “How kind of you” he smiled before turning to Solaris. “That sounds agreeable. You saved me and gave me access to your library. You have shown me kindness in taking steps to protect my mother and are willing to bend the rules for my wellbeing and development. It’d be an honour to apprentice under you sir.”

A delighted look overtook Solaris’s face as he grabbed Zak’s shoulder warmly. “The honours are all mine. There's not a doubt in my mind that you will attain magehood in many fields.”

“Welcome to the family Zak. You definitely made the right decision” added Zamfir. “Professor Sal’s one of, if not the most respected Sorcerer in the magical community. Most students would definitely prefer to be taught by him than even a Monarch” she said enthusiastically.

“I wouldn’t go that far Zamfir” the Professor admonished with a slight blush.

“Cool” yawned Zak as he pondered what a Monarch was. However it was late and he figured he could ask some other time. All the reading and new exciting details of the magical world had left him quite exhausted.

“We’ll pick this up in the morning,” said Solaris as he observed the young man's sleepy countenance. “Get some rest as we’ll be training tomorrow” he warned.

“Alright” yawned Zak again, as he proceeded towards the heavenly soft sheets of his bed upstairs.