Red Magic | Why Is the Magic Master So Worried? Zann Breaks the Rules! (Ch. 3–4)

0:00 Little fox.

0:05 Zing Xan exclaimed, "You oversized swamp rat.

0:10 I'll get you for that."

0:12 Picking up a rock, he tossed it at the dragon.

0:14 Zing ducked the rock, chattering in annoyance.

0:17 Xan grinned.

0:19 "What do you expect?"

0:20 he said.

0:21 "You just tried to roast me."

0:23 The dragon hopped down from the roof,

0:25 not bothering to unfurl its leathery wings.

0:29 It landed beside Xan with a thump.

0:31 He bent to scratch its pointy little head.

0:34 "Did you eat yet?"

0:35 he asked.

0:36 "Let's go inside.

0:37 I'll conjure up some food for you as soon

0:39 as I tell Bos about the warning." The dragon chirped agreeably.

0:44 Many people kept dragons as pets,

0:46 but fire whistlers like Zing weren't very popular.

0:50 The breed was too active, too independent, and a little too unpredictable.

0:55 Besides, most people didn't like dealing with a pet that could set you on fire.

0:59 But Zing was perfect for Xan.

1:01 They spent hours together.

1:03 Their favorite game was to lie and wait and attack each other.

1:07 Xan reached for his school bag, which he dropped during Zing's surprise attack.

1:12 You'd better sleep with one eye open, he told the dragon jokingly.

1:16 Dragons couldn't talk, but the smarter ones could understand some human speech.

1:21 Because when you least expect it,

1:24 I'm going to grab you and feed you to the water blobs." Zing hissed playfully,

1:29 sending out a spurt of flame that Xan dodged easily.

1:32 He laughed, glancing around for another rock.

1:36 Before he could find one, the door flew open.

1:39 "Get in here,"

1:41 Bos ordered, the tip of his long,

1:42 pointy nose quivering as it always did when he was worked up about something.

1:47 Xan's grandfather was clutching the tattered diary in which

1:50 he recorded everything important that happened to him.

1:53 "I need to talk to you."

1:55 Xan guessed that Bos had already heard about the message.

1:58 "I'm coming," he said.

2:00 Like the outside, the inside of their house rarely changed.

2:04 Half the furniture was boring and utilitarian,

2:07 transported there by Bos from his old home in First City.

2:11 The rest was cool stuff that Zan's parents had conjured,

2:14 mostly based on interesting things they had seen in their travels.

2:17 A statue of a frightening beast from the slopes of Mount Mystery,

2:20 replicas of the lows slung chairs used

2:23 by nomadic settlers way out on the far frontier,

2:26 and an exotic looking lamp from some other faraway world.

2:31 That lamp was Xan's favorite.

2:32 He paused beside it, resting a hand on its lumpy surface and glancing

2:36 at the framed blink images of his family hanging on the walls.

2:40 Could his parents be trapped in some mysterious other world even now?

2:45 Could they still be alive despite what most people thought?

2:48 Zing scampered over to grab a scorched chew toy.

2:51 Bos stared at Xan.

2:53 His large brown eyes were troubled.

2:56 I'm glad you're home, he said, setting his diary on the table.

3:00 I thought about going down to your school to get you.

3:03 Have you heard about the warning from the palace?

3:07 Xan nodded.

3:07 An echo crow came to school.

3:10 The message sounded pretty weird.

3:12 Why would Red suddenly start disappearing?

3:16 I don't know.

3:17 Bos rubbed his nose to stop it from quivering.

3:20 I've sent messages to a few friends to see if any of them know anything,

3:25 but they haven't responded.

3:27 That worries me, especially since they're all reds.

3:31 He tapped one finger against another, and several message moths appeared.

3:36 Bos focused his gaze on one, muttering a message under his breath.

3:40 As he spoke, tiny words etched themselves onto the moth's powdery wings.

3:45 Xan couldn't help being impressed.

3:48 Most people had to inscribe message moths by hand.

3:51 Only a few people had the focus to do it by eye.

3:54 Sometimes it was easy to forget that his grandfather had

3:57 been one of the most powerful magic masters in the kingdom.

4:00 Xan wondered if he himself would ever develop

4:03 that kind of control over his own powers.

4:06 He realized Bos had finished inscribing the message moths and was talking again.

4:10 He just said something about wanting Xan to stay at home.

4:14 "What?"

4:14 Xan blurted out.

4:15 "But I told Darb I'd meet him at the swamp after dinner." "Sorry, Xan.

4:20 We need to be careful until I find out what we're dealing with."

4:25 Bos waved a hand to send the moths fluttering out the window.

4:28 I can't risk you wandering off.

4:31 What's the difference?

4:33 It's not like anything ever happens way out here in Swamp Bottom.

4:37 I still don't know why you decided to move

4:39 to this place after mom and dad disappeared.

4:42 We'll never find out what happened to them while

4:44 we're stuck out here in this boring old backwater.

4:48 I'll make dinner in an hour, was all Bos said.

4:52 You'd better get started on your homework.

4:55 Typical, thought Xan.

4:57 Bos never wanted to talk about what had happened to Xan's parents.

5:01 Xan didn't get it.

5:02 Didn't Bos want to find them if they were still out there somewhere?

5:07 "Come here, Zing!" he called.

5:09 "Dinner time!"

5:12 He rubbed his fingers together and pointed at the dragon's food dish.

5:15 A big helping of green, slimy dragon mush appeared.

5:19 Zing flapped his wings in thanks.

5:22 Then he shot out a flicker of flame and instantly cooked the mush.

5:25 It smelled disgusting, but the dragon slurped it up eagerly.

5:29 Xan turned around and realized Bos was watching him.

5:33 I'm not trying to ruin your fun, Xan.

5:36 Bos said, "I just want to protect you." "I know."

5:40 Xan felt guilty for his earlier thoughts.

5:43 "It's okay."

5:46 But after dinner, Zan felt much too restless to sit in his room and study.

5:51 He checked to make sure Bos wasn't nearby.

5:55 Then he rubbed his hands together and zapped himself out of the house.

6:03 Xan landed in a puddle of swampy water.

6:05 "Drat," he muttered.

6:07 His conveyance teacher was always scolding him for this sort of thing.

6:11 Being a red, Zan could zap himself far and fast.

6:15 But his focus still needed some work.

6:18 That didn't matter now, though.

6:19 He was out of the house.

6:20 It was time to find Darb.

6:22 Pursing his lips, he whistled,

6:24 trying to imitate the call of a lesser swamp swift.

6:28 "Not bad," a voice said from the grassy hilllock behind him.

6:32 "I always knew you had talents other than magic," Xan spun around and grinned.

6:37 "Hey, Darb," he said, stepping out of the water.

6:40 "Sorry I'm late.

6:41 Bos didn't want me to go out."

6:43 "Because of the warning about Red's disappearing," Darb asked thoughtfully.

6:47 "I've been hearing about that." Darb was a void,

6:50 one of a small group of people in Magiko born without any magical abilities.

6:55 That was the reason he and Xan had met in the first place.

6:58 On Xan's first day at the swamp bottom school,

7:01 he'd encountered Jeb and his friends teasing Darb.

7:04 Xan had told them to stop.

7:06 "Who's going to make me?" Jeb had sneered.

7:09 "That red hair of yours doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do."

7:13 Then he turned and shoved Darve into the wall hard.

7:16 Looking back, Xan knew he probably should have called a teacher.

7:20 Instead, he'd acted on impulse,

7:22 rubbing his fingers together until sparks began to jump from his hand.

7:26 Jeb didn't even know what had happened until

7:28 his friends started snickering and pointing at him.

7:31 Xan had given him a pair of oversized donkey ears.

7:34 It took Jeb several tries to undo the spell.

7:37 Ever since then, Jeb had been Zan's enemy, and Darb had been Xan's friend.

7:42 Darb didn't attend school anymore.

7:45 Voids were only required to study the basics of theory and history.

7:49 Once classes started doing practical magic lessons,

7:51 voids usually dropped out and studied on their own.

7:55 Most ended up finding careers as companions, greeters, animal caretakers,

8:00 and mediators or other jobs that required no magic.

8:03 Most people in Magika would never purposely discriminate against a void.

8:08 But Xan had noticed that people said things in front

8:10 of Darb that they wouldn't say in front of others.

8:13 It was as if they thought voids were deaf and dumb as well as lacking magic.

8:17 That didn't seem fair to Xan,

8:19 but it did allow Darb to hear a lot of interesting gossip.

8:22 "What have you heard about the warning?"

8:24 Xan asked his friend now.

8:26 "Not much," Darb said.

8:27 "Everyone's talking about the message from the palace, though.

8:30 The mayor is so nervous that she put a shield spell over the entire town hall."

8:36 Bos is trying to find out more.

8:38 In the meantime, he wants me to stay inside.

8:41 Xan rolled his eyes.

8:43 You can't blame him for being worried after what happened to your parents.

8:47 I guess Xan jumped onto a larger hillock.

8:51 So, what have you been doing?

8:53 Studying insects.

8:55 Insects, huh?

8:56 Xan said.

8:57 Why not study something more exciting?

8:59 Dragons, maybe.

9:01 Speaking of dragons, where's Zing?

9:03 Darb asked.

9:05 He was outside when I left.

9:07 I couldn't get him without B seeing me.

9:09 Darb looked disappointed.

9:11 Everyone assumed he'd end up being an animal caretaker someday.

9:14 He loved animals of all kinds and they loved him.

9:17 Zing broke into a happy whistling song whenever he saw him.

9:21 Darb stepped toward a slowmoving stream.

9:24 Look, panic bugs.

9:25 He leaned closer for a better look.

9:28 Can you get a picture of them for me?

9:31 Sure.

9:31 Xan rubbed his hands together and stared at the shiny red bugs.

9:34 Wait.

9:35 A piece of paper appeared and fluttered to the swampy ground.

9:38 Xan picked it up.

9:40 The image of the panic bugs was there in full color.

9:44 Thanks.

9:44 Darb took the blink image, folded it, and put it into his pocket.

9:48 Then he gently scooped up the bugs and put them in his other pocket,

9:52 being careful not to startle them into releasing their stink.

9:55 "Want to help me look for leeches?"

9:57 he asked.

9:58 "I've seen them around here before." "Leachches?"

10:01 Zan echoed.

10:02 "Why?" "I've been reading about them.

10:05 It's fascinating how they can suck the magic out of people.

10:10 Yeah.

10:10 Xan grinned.

10:11 Back in First City, my friends and I used to stick them on each other as a joke.

10:16 It would take about a million of them

10:17 to drain enough magic to make a difference, but it was still funny.

10:22 Darb peered into the water's murky depths.

10:25 Leees are very shy, he said.

10:27 They live at the bottom of streams like this.

10:29 We'll have to be quiet and feel around in the water.

10:33 Why go to all that trouble?

10:34 Xan rubbed his fingers together.

10:37 I'll displace the water.

10:38 Then you can grab as many leeches as you want.

10:42 Xan, wait.

10:43 Dark began.

10:44 That won't The water in the nearest section of the stream levitated,

10:49 hanging as droplets in the air.

10:51 Several fish and other creatures were left lying

10:53 on the bottom of the stream bed, looking confused.

10:56 "Leaches!" Xan cried, pointing.

10:59 Almost before he spotted them,

11:01 the slimy little creatures had burrowed into the soft sand.

11:05 "Oh, they're gone." "I tried to tell you that," Darb said with a sigh.

11:10 "They dive away from air unless they're latched onto someone." "Sorry,"

11:15 Xan said.

11:16 "Hey, did you hear that?" "Hear what?" Xan tilted his head, listening.

11:22 "That buzzing noise," he said.

11:25 "Sounds like an irritated spy fly.

11:27 Or maybe a loud angry buzzing drowned out his words.

11:33 Suddenly a whole swarm of tiny glittering dragons came zipping

11:37 out of a hole in the bank and started stinging him.