Chapter 1

As the contents of the cauldron explode into nothingness, the Braixen sighs once again. Yet again, another failed spell. The Delphox standing on the opposite side of the cauldron walks over to comfort her with her soft, wizened voice.

“There, there, Brianna. You’ll get the hang of it. Keep studying and practicing hard, and your magic will someday grow.”

The Braixen looks up at her Delphox tutor and gives her a weak smile. Her warm embrace helps to dry her tears and soothe her pain.

“We’ll try again tomorrow. Gather your books and clean up the remnants of the spell, and meet me upstairs in ten minutes for bedtime.”

Brianna nods and begins collecting her various workbooks, but as the Delphox leaves and closes the door to the room, the Braixen moans to herself. “It’s not fair”, she says forlornly. “Madame Delphi makes her spells look so effortless. Just once, I would like to be able to cast magic as easily as her…”

As she picks up the last of her workbooks, Brianna is confused as she realizes she now is holding seven books, rather than the six she had originally come in with. In her haste to clean up after herself, she had accidentally picked up one of Madame Delphi’s own books — a book listing a number of different spells a Braixen like her is not yet supposed to know. Upon realizing the contents of the book, the Braixen smirks, and carefully rearranges the books in her hands to obscure her find. With that, she makes her way out the room and upstairs to the dormitory, where she places the books in a bedside drawer before being carefully tucked in to sleep.

Some hours later, as the room has fallen quiet — save for the occasional snoring of other Pokémon within the dormitory — Brianna is still wide awake. Being careful not to create any sound that could wake anyone and alert them, the Braixen carefully opens the drawer and pulls out Madame Delphi’s book. She pulls the covers over herself, and begins to secretly read the book underneath the covers, sight unseen. The following morning, she awakes early and sneaks downstairs to place the book in a bookshelf near the cauldron, then returns to bed before everyone else rises.

Later that night, Madame Delphi sets up the cauldron with a basic magical essence. “Well, Brianna, let’s give this another try. I assume you’ve been continuing to study your basic magic techniques?”

Brianna nods, and steps up towards the cauldron, a sense of confidence flowing through her. Deftly, she takes her flaming stick and makes a number of swift movements, deftly trailing the flame in an intricate pattern above the cauldron, whispering an incantation all the while. A sense of pride and awe washes over her face as, slowly, the bubbling liquid in the cauldron begins to rise.

Suddenly, though, the situation takes a turn. The rising liquid begins to glow, quickly increasing in brightness up to a point it no longer has any visible, discernable form. The cauldron overturns as though pushed by an invisible force, but the glowing mass remains, floating in midair untethered and in complete defiance of gravity. Suddenly, a loud sound, somewhere between a booming thud and a forceful ripping, rings out through the entire building, joined by a bright flash. As the flash fades, there in the middle of the room appears what would appear to be a tear in reality itself — a void, through which nothing of the room can be seen. In its place is the sight of another place… another building…

Madame Delphi gasps in horror as the reality of what has just occurred suddenly dawns upon them both.

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