New Discoveries

It's been about three weeks now, and I've been spending a lot of time with my sister. She informed me how her first year in this world went while I wasn't here. She's made a lot of progress with her Starscourge abilities. Apparently, her gift was ice. I told her about my gravity magic and asked her if she had any similar experience to mine, and she said it was identical to mine with how she could only command ice within the range of her magic control. When I explained to her how I could increase the power of my magic by concentrating it on one spot, she smiled, saying it took her months to figure that out, and said, "no fair! You always develop new ideas like a bookworm, while I just want to enjoy life." I just laugh at that, and she pinches me like a kid.

During these three weeks, I was able to learn music theory pretty quickly since I already had the basics from my past life down. When I started practicing the violin and let me tell you. They weren't joking when they said the violin is the most challenging instrument to learn. Let's not even talk about beginning to master it, it could take you a decade to even get to that level. Fortunately, I seemed to have a talent for it, according to Mr. Webb. However, I was surprised to learn that he actually played the violin and was at a level just under genuinely mastering it. I was going to have to start putting in five hours or more a day if I wanted to speed up my experience with it, so I could even get somewhat good at it.

Another three weeks fly by of non-stop studying to catch up to 2nd years of magical knowledge and playing the violin. During those weeks, I was also introduced to swordsmanship and archery. I hadn't spent much time on them, but I had no choice since my butler explained that every Starscourge is required to learn them. To my surprise, my sister was already pretty good at archery, but it looked like she was still poor at swordsmanship. Anyway, I had also decided to learn french since I wanted to visit France someday and check on my sister; I haven't told her about this and want to surprise her by speaking the baguette language.

As I started getting more in tune with my violin, I started understanding its logic; having a good teacher helped as well. The violin fitted my hand naturally, and I was currently smoothly playing 'Sonata No.2 in A Minor, BWV 1003:IV. Allegro. ' So far, my progress has been going smoothly from non-stop practice. I've gotten close to mastering the basic scales and can shift up to at least 3rd position.

Meanwhile, I hadn't noticed Mr. Webb observing me with a stunned expression as my little performance ended. He stepped inside the room, catching me off guard, saying something whilst clapping. "Excellent young master! It seems you are a prodigy; you are already at the advanced level of performer, congratulations".

This surprised me, and I wasn't sure what to think about that. It felt like I had been playing the violin for a decade, but I was currently getting rid of the rust of not playing for years. Mr. Webb then looked at me, saying, "young master, would you like to try to participate in an orchestra, a friend of mine just happens to be short of one violinist, and I think you could handle the position well; how does that sound?" Upon hearing that, I agreed to his offer, thinking, This would be a good experience for me. I've always wanted to try playing in an orchestra, feeling all the energy of emotions in music combined. My sister was so excited for me that she immediately jumped on me in a hug after I accepted Mr. Webb's offer. I returned the hug reluctantly.

| Play Providence - Eternal Eclipse |

Outside on an island, a lake appeared as if by magic. It was teardrop-silver in color and shaped like a perfectly flat metal disc. No sound rang out from the shimmering emptiness of space around it. The garden nearby was quiet, it was lined with cherry blossom trees, and the faint whiff of vanilla, lilac, and rose floated about. Near the lake, a handsome teen could be witnessed sitting on the rain-pearled grass with eyes closed and violin in hand underneath a cherry blossom tree. The idyllic scene would take anyone's breath away. Unruffled by wind or rain, it was vault still and restful. The only sounds were the bumbling of bees dancing to a violin's powerful, deep, smooth tone. Out on the lake, flopping trout were slapping the surface. They were dancing to waves of sound that approached. The heaven-leaking light added a golden tint to the face of the lake, and it was paradise. The startling discovery of the day was unexpected, involving the natural island's beauty. The nipping mosquitos didn't take away from the pleasure of that day.

Something was different…I felt as if I was one with nature; I could feel everything around me, the insects, grass, falling petals, and even the vitality of nature. After laying down the violin bow, I focused on a single falling petal and pulled it into my hand. Opening my eyes, I see a beautiful red-pinkish petal in perfect shape. It looked like your typical petal; before I had used gravity to pull it, I had felt it had more vitality than the others. Letting go of the flower into the wind, I picked up my bow and continued playing Providence. With the familiar feeling returning to me, I concentrate on one of the bees and control the sound waves to enter it, stopping it in place. Weird…I now have a sense of authority over it. A few moments later, I could grasp complete control of the bee through sound waves, making it fly toward me. With the bee now flying in circles around me, I decided to try controlling another to test my limit.

One hour later, an abnormal occurrence of nature was transpiring near a breathtaking view, as hundreds of bees could be witnessed flying in a pattern of a circle. Inside, a young boy bowing the violin abruptly stops. Hundreds of bees scatter around, finally in possession of themselves. The scene couldn't get any more bizarre when, suddenly, a spatial anomaly distorts nearby on the island. Upon listening in, you could hear deep, eerie, warping sounds, and a portal could be glimpsed from within the garden as it continues to distort in random intervals. Alerting the boy, he decides to check out the unnatural sound coming from 30 meters away. The boy sits up and starts jogging in the garden's direction to witness this sudden event.

I was thinking about what I should try next with my newfound ability when I heard an unfamiliar sound coming from the garden. It sounded like someone had dropped dry ice down a metal box. I got up and started jogging toward the sound. As I reached the garden, I saw a blueish oval resembling a portal. After examining it for a few seconds, I walked up to it to get a closer look. Thinking, is this what my sister was talking about? She spoke of many mysterious things happening on this island on a few occasions. For example, portals can appear randomly for a short time and teleport you to an undisclosed location on earth upon entering it. Yet, they were relatively rare and had no pattern to understand them in any shape or form. Her most interesting finding about them is that from the other side, animals and even humans could also enter the island through them. She has had a few occasions of finding people lost in the island's beautiful forest and had to send them back via the portal at the mansion. However, the portals would obliviate anyone that used them without Starscourge blood. I suspect it has something to do with the mystery of this island and my family's history.

Anyhow, that's how she discovered her pet. It was an axolotl she found falling out of a portal hovering over the lake outside the garden. I know she was always fond of aquatic-type species and had five fish tanks in the past, so it was a perfect pet for her. Speaking of fish tanks, she now has a huge one in the mansion with all kinds of exotic fish, and of course, she gave the axolotl its own personal tank since it was her favorite, apparently. I also liked fish, but I wasn't a collector myself since it was a lot of work to keep up with, and I had a lot on my plate already. Back to reality, I watch the portal to see if anything interesting happens before it disappears.

Unknown Pov:

*huff* *huff *huff* Out of breath, I take a second to rest while thinking, those idiots, do they not understand retaliating against human hunters with guns is a bad idea. I tried to warn them, but it was no use. They wouldn't listen to my pleas, and the leader marked me as a traitor to the pack. After gathering my bearings, I start wondering in search of a new place to sleep for the night. A little while later, I noticed I was somehow tracked while thinking, that clown of a leader. He actually sent out the weakest in the pack alone on a wild goose chase just to catch me. Did he forget that I was the best regarding stealth and hunting? What a fool.

After covering my tracks, I decided to start climbing the huge hill to try and get a vantage point. A few seconds later, a familiar scent came from behind me. How? Just when I turn around, I see two foxes staring me down, ready to pounce on me at any moment. I looked at the other fox attentively, and the realization dawned on me. So that's how they found me. I guess the leader is more competent than I realized. He actually sent the best tracker in the pack.

Not a moment later, they pounce at me as I dodge to the left, expecting this. I noticed something fishy going on as I dodged another attack. I thought: I knew they wouldn't be stupid enough to try and take me on together since I could manage both simultaneously, so what's their play here? Suspecting something wrong, I start sniffing around, and my body stiffens at my discovery. The other foxes realizing they were found out, started chattering with high pitch sounds like they were communicating. A moment later, one of them howls, and the rest of the pack jumps out from the bushes, ambushing me.

Ready for this, I looked to my right, witnessing a vast cave system in the ground, and started fleeing in hopes of losing them. Unfortunately, one of them was already very close to me and was able to scratch my rear leg; with a slight sting of pain, I carried on, knowing death awaited if I even slowed down a little. When I reached the cave, it looked like a far drop, and I wasn't sure if I could make that; even so, it was my only hope in this situation. Thus I took the plunge, leaping; I could feel the adrenaline in my body peeking as my heart raced to the maximum beat.

A second later, a high-pitched shriek and cracking sound could be heard echoing in a cave system. Zooming into the cave, a small fennec fox is lying on the cold hard ground, whimpering. It was in horrible shape, having broken limbs and bloody paws. The fox whines as it tries to get up but ultimately fails, falling back to the ground and passing out. Further in the cave, loud water drips, splashing onto the floor of the caves and leaving behind microscopic particles of calcium carbonate.

One hour late. A blueish portal appears in the cave, taking the fox along with it in its vicinity. On the other side of the portal, a young man can be caught sitting as if waiting for something. Not even a second later, a fox appears from the portal, falling into a flowerbed. The young man seeing this runs up to the animal and inspects it; upon seeing the terrible injuries, it had, with a confused look, the teen proceeds to scoop up the fox into his arms and leaves toward a luxurious mansion.

[Fennec Fox Image]

Artorias Pov:

After waiting only a minute by the portal, a small orange creature suddenly falls from it. When I rushed up to the tiny animal, upon examining it, I saw it was on the brink of life and death. In a hurry, I scooped up the little guy and headed towards the mansion to try and save it. When I entered the building, I was spotted by my sister, and she walked up to me. Looking at my arms, she questioned me with a concerned look, saying, "Art, what's going on, and what's that in your arms?" I then replied, "I believe it's a fox. It came out severely injured from one of the portals." she looked at me, arms crossed with a curious expression saying, "elaborate."

I immediately tell her, "later, first I need to save this little guy," while walking away. She runs up to me and says, "let me help," in a begging tone. I just reply, "no, I got this, sorry sis" walking upstairs towards my room. She gives me a dejected look and returns to the living quarters. I shake my head at that and resume walking. Once I reached my room, I opened the door using my gravity magic and entered. Laying the fox on my workbench, I continue to examine the fox's wounds to apprehend what spells I need to use. After thoroughly cleaning its wounds and understanding its condition, I bent down and tapped the fox with my wand. With total concentration, I muttered, "Ferula" bandages spun up around the fox's legs, strapping it tightly to a splint.

A few minutes later, a knock on the door came. I put down my book and strolled towards the door. While opening it, I'm greeted by my sister's concerned face. She walks in as I back up, giving her room to step in. I watch her walk over to my bed and bend down with a curious look, examining the fox filled with bandages. A few seconds later, she walks over to my workbench and seems to be searching for something. I asked her, "hey what are you do-" I was cut off by her saying, "so.. you've been learning healing spells brother?" While she holds a book in her hands, I reply, "obviously," the way Snape would, and she sneers, saying, "what are you, Snape?" Trying to hold in my laugh and snorting, I reply, "obviously,". She falls on the floor laughing, and I just stare at her amusedly.

After getting over the joke, she finally pulls herself together. While standing up, she looks at me, stating, "you know, sometimes I wish I chose Hogwarts instead of Bauexdixons." Before I could ask why she spoke again, saying, "If I did I could spend more time with you." I looked over at her and sighed, replying, "come on, Elaine, you gotta grow up and become independent. I won't always be around, you know." she just nodded and said, "I know that, you jerk. I was just thinking about how we won't be able to hang out for 9 months for next five years, for every year. I'm gonna miss you…." I express a hugging motion, and she rushes up to hug me. I then whisper with her in my arms, "your still just a baby… you haven't changed a bit, my little sister," and she then goes red as a tomato.

A few minutes later, the two siblings part ways saying their good nights as two pairs of eyes look at this heartwarming moment. The silhouette of a person had a wide smile and vanished into a portal.