When Nadine Hunt was just a girl, she knew little outside of her parents’ home in the tropical nation of Lio. Of what she could recall, she enjoyed her time in the land of short nights and bright, clear days. Her first year of school introduced her to people she thought she would be friends with forever, but it was just not meant to be. Too soon would she would wave goodbye to these forgotten faces after her father’s job relocated the family to frontiers well beyond her young mind could comprehend.

       The northern republic of Polax would turn out to be a far cry from what she assumed was the global standard. Settled along the crest of an imposing mountain formation was the town hosting her life for the years to come, Albrooke. She had seen snow on television and her parents had warned her of what to expect from winter, but she was still shocked by how cold it was when she first set foot outside of the car. For the longest time she wondered what she had done to be punished so.

       As the polar opposite to the capital she was born in, Albrooke was a small town with a population of just a few thousand. From the inherent willingness to help to the gossip which kept errant behavior in check, a community was solidified over generations that other towns and cities could learn a lesson from. This was a place where crime was minimal and social outings were the norm. Most were extroverted folk with manners and morals they could almost call their own in these modern times. Albrooke was a town built for those who chose to ignore the corruption and violence of the real world that was prone to scaring most wayward souls home. In other words, it could bore a child used to big-city luxuries to tears.

       As with most villages, homes revolved around that one street in town where the locally-owned shops were situated. Otherwise, aside from schools, bars and parks, each street was lined with modest houses of all shapes and sizes. She found herself enrolled at one of the public elementary schools halfway through the year and learned her first summer there would be spent making up what she missed. It was a depressing situation that led her to believe the whole world was against her.

       Nadine was as shy as children came and wary of what to expect, seeing as she had barely recovered from the initial anguish of losing the friends she struggled so hard to earn in far-off Lio. Having just shaken off the trauma of being introduced to her new classmates, she was treated to her first recess. The awkwardness of standing alone amidst a sea of children who had known each other since day one was unbearable. This was where she gravitated towards a boy, one whose situation reflected her own despite the fact that he was among the natives. His name was Willem Tarrant.

       At the time, he was a brooding little brat isolated by his penchant for videogames and distaste for the outdoors. He kept his hair long, so long that Nadine mistook his gender, which was the main reason she approached him. His eyes were what drew her to first make contact and initially showed her that he was an outcast. They had this luster to them, like polished stone and he looked out at the world like he had just been born into it.

       Half a year younger than she, Willem was a weird kid who no one else could bring themselves to like. The ominous youth told her everything she needed to know about the people she would be learning with and asked nothing in return. She had yet to meet anyone like him, unable to determine if his personality stemmed from selfishness, profound apathy or both. His differences drove a wedge between him and the people he observed silently from his corner of the playground which had been declared a forbidden zone by all the other children.

       As far as grades were concerned, Willem had a terrible time passing his classes and only kept up due to the tireless help of tutors and his mother. Even Nadine helped him with his homework and realized he wasn’t at all stupid. His capacity for practical knowledge was painfully low. They would spend the years bonding until adolescence forever warped their perspectives. The foresight of her parents’ had her learning in Albrooke’s sterile private school, while Willem found himself forced to cope with everyday teenage temptations. Within his first year, he began to change in ways even puberty couldn’t explain.

       Once he reached high school, he achieved nothing but what the peak of the learning curve had to offer. He fended off cheating allegations time and time again by keeping his sleeves rolled up during exams. Rumors floated across the school districts about a boy who had aced a trigonometry exam after he stomped on his calculator and bit the eraser off of his pencil. It would be months before she came to find out it Willem all along. Her perception of him changed dramatically and she wondered if she had anything to do with his earlier lack of focus. Willem continued to defy his usual state of status quo whenever he was forced to use his body for anything other than sleeping through class.

       Although he had to be coerced into doing so, he was able to run fast enough to make the track team’s top sprinter look like he was standing still. She even heard from a friend about this weird kid from the public school who showed up Albrooke High’s most hulking linebacker in a weightlifting showdown. This bothered her to no end. From what she had known of him, Willem Tarrant was the laziest person she had ever met. Most of the time, he wouldn’t even turn away from his video games when she was talking to him. When their schools met to compete like rivals do, she could always find him loafing with the other rejects while the monitors were distracted by the influx of new faces. Despite his talent, the only people Willem cared to socialize with were those with bleak outlooks and bleaker futures.

       With the climactic end of their high school days came the sudden realization of a long-hidden dilemma. Over time, she had come to depend on his patience and willingness to listen to anything she had to say. No matter the issue, she knew she could call or visit Willem at any time of day, no matter the circumstance. The mass of scholarships he reaped would pay for his schooling easily and warranted the half-year vacation his mother granted for a job well done. She would be leaving in the fall for the next stage of her education and she wasn’t sure if she could do it alone. That time without her trusted confidant would be grueling, but yet again, fate would put another kink in the stable flow of her life. Willem vanished. She would spend days pining over his whereabouts until it was learned that he was safe but little more was said.

       She left Albrooke that fall embittered by the summer’s events. With Willem gone, there was no reason for Nadine not to immediately honor her childhood vow to return to the life she was born into. The proud capital city of Undel would be the setting of her post-secondary education. Although she made many friends during the years to follow, none compared to the vigilant companion she thought of everyday. Soon, his impact on her life had dulled enough that she only thought of him whenever she browsed her photo albums. 

       Nadine would pass the next years immersed in her studies and graduated top of her class. The prerequisite training in law enforcement coupled with her stunning grades drew the attention of recruiters from all branches of authority. She would soon be tempted by the offer of one such organization known as the ‘Masks’. They were valued as modern heroes battling against the ancient and devastating force known as magic. News broadcasts the world over celebrated their efforts, revering each individual agent as an indispensable icon of balance. Everyone had a story for where they were any day something terrible crossed from the Kingdoms and scarred their way of life. It was happening increasingly often. Their well-spoken representative piqued her curiosity with his promise of a whole new way to look at the world. She accepted.

       Working for the Masks turned out to be an experience any young man or woman would be proud to have decorating their resume. They were always hiring and paid well. Not long in, she was introduced to magic as a reality that could see loved ones shattered in the wake of even the most subtle spells. She understood the ways of her world much better and a strong sense of ever-vigilant resolve defined the beginning of her adult life.

       Startling knowledge about the stable reality they thought they knew was awarded with each promotion, efficiently turning curiosity to ambition. Nadine strived to earn the right to learn more about the increasingly complicated world around her. She had already become familiar with dozens of strains of magic and once again, led her peers in a field she knew nothing about until her recruitment. Before long, she would stand before her supervisors, accepting their praise with the humble grace expected of the ideal agent.

       In her two years with the company, she had come a long way from her entry-level position as a field agent. For much of that time, she was mostly assigned to chasing down suspects and cleaning up after the messes that actual clashes always resulted in. Like many stationed at this rank however, she had seen very little of the fabled magic, although her experiences were unforgettable. Her most heated encounters consisted of a successful capture, several neutralizing pursuits, and one attack in which she was consigned to a hospital bed for several days. She was pleased to leave this post behind for many reasons.

       From there she took on the role of dispatcher and was responsible for coordinating several units the likes of which she once belonged. Patrol routes were hers to dictate in the name of efficiency. She notified the units of outbreaks and led them accordingly to suppress the threat. Becoming this unseen, guiding voice she herself had relied on many times made her feel as though she found her calling. Among the many perks this position had to offer, it was the access to a fair portion of the company’s documents she coveted the most. She was amazed by the knowledge kept from the public and agreed with their policy to bear the weight of the truth for the greater good.

       But Nadine would soon be called upon by her employer for an even more suitable task. Her freshly appointed role had her investigating rumors of magic appearing spontaneously within the population. Her territory consisted of the rural regions surrounding the Undel main office, about which she was obligated a detailed report of her findings at the end of every day. Her first case would take her far from the city she called home to a place she knew well, Albrooke. The awkwardness of returning to her hometown would increase exponentially when she learned that the person she was investigating was none other than Willem Tarrant.

Continue to Chapter 2