Chapter 1.10 | Chapter 1.12

After the harsh criticism from her daughter, Caizey decided perhaps it was time to alter her parenting methods. Perhaps she needed to put some more time into it. So, after Kailyn went to school the next morning, she quickly put in an order with the furnishing catalog, and then made one more important call. Before long, there was a new hot tub on the way.. some swings, a treehouse kit, a new hot tub, as well as several items that were to go with the other phone call. The knock at the door was answered swiftly, and the adoption agent brought in the huge cat carrier, and let a tiny little soul out into the house.

Chapter 1.9 | Chapter 1.11

Today was the first day of freedom. It was Monday, and Caizey happily got up and cooked some breakfast (the request had been for Grilled Cheese, and what the hey, that’s breakfast, too!)

Then, Caizey sat with her daughter as she ate and got ready for school. A quick hug, and Kailyn was off on the bus, with the bus driver giving Caizey’s beaming smile and jaunty wave a bemused look.

Chapter 1.8 | Chapter 1.10

Caizey started off the week with the best of intentions. She could totally do this – be a wholesome, happy, and supportive stay-at-home parent.

Little Kailyn seemed to be pretty well-behaved for a toddler, too, so that should help the situation. She quickly learned to climb stairs, and was more than happy to get her own breakfast off the counter.

Perhaps pancakes with sticky syrup was a mistake, however… one Caizey soon regretted when she had to give Kailyn a bath right after breakfast. At least none had gotten on the fancy couch..!

Kailyn loved her new kitty-cat toy, and spent quite a bit of time playing with it – anytime Caizey needed a break and went back downstairs to paint or harvest the garden, Kailyn would end up playing with it.

Winterfest dawned early, and Caizey baked a cake for her own birthday just to get it over with as quickly as possible. No need to dwell on the fact she was getting older.

The maid, however, thought that any birthday was cause for celebration, and ended up waking Kailyn up with her raucous version of Happy Birthday.

Caizey quickly hid the cake and called her baby girl down to open her presents. There was no need to fill the kid up with sugar. Kailyn adored her laser light show gift, and wanted Mommy to take it upstairs and plug it in right away.

Caizey, however, was less than impressed by the Jazz cats painting that was in her present, but she pretended she liked it so as not to ruin the day.

The rest of the day was spent teaching toddler skills. Kailyn was really working hard, stretching her thinking skills and expanding her vocabulary. Caizey wanted her to have the best start on life possible, and she knew all these skills would pay off later.

The stress of being a full-time parent was definitely getting to her, though. Not having the freedom to leave her home anytime she wanted was very tough when she’d gotten so used to it. She missed the magic realm, and the exciting duels.. and she was really considering getting a nanny for Kailyn and taking some time “off” for herself.

It only took one look outside .. and picking up the phone.. for Caizey to immediately feel selfish for wanting to leave her baby so soon. Spring – and Kailyn’s birthday – were coming up soon, and surely things would be easier then.

Impulsively, Caizey spent the rest of the afternoon painting, and let Kailyn play (seemingly happily) by herself upstairs with her blocks.

The days drug by, with each day mind-numbingly the same. Cook, teaching Kailyn, harvest the garden, paint, and send the paintings off to the gallery. Money was certainly not an issue, because the Money Trees were netting her a fortune. She had become a sim-millionaire, and was only painting because she was bored – not because she needed to.

Finally, Kailyn’s birthday arrived, and the precocious youngster was eager to move on to bigger and better things. Caizey looked forward to being able to travel again while Kailyn would be at school. Surely Kailyn would be old enough to look after herself if she hadn’t come home before school ended??

They took a trip to the store, and Caizey let Kailyn pick out all the clothes she wanted for her first day of school on Monday. Well, and clothes for at home.. and well, for whenever, really. Caizey approved of the fun, artsy, colorful outfits her daughter put together, and getting out of the house was a balm for Caizey’s wanderlust. Once again, she felt like she could do this parenting thing.. and was feeling magnanimous enough to agree when Kailyn asked to join the Scouts after school and weekend activity. Maybe that would even mean Kailyn would want to do some traveling with her while hunting for her badges? .. Caizey sure hoped so!

Chapter 1.8 | Chapter 1.10

Chapter 1.7 | Chapter 1.9

Caizey had spent days painting, and finally her money tree garden was paying off. The first day alone netted more than 150,000 simoleons. There was no way she would be hurting for money anymore. She picked up her dog-eared home improvement catalog and made a call to the local contractors. It was time to “finish” her home.

While she waited on the call to confirm when the workers would be there, she called Kabir up and got back to work on her aspiration. There were more kisses to be stolen.

Kabir seemed completely happy with the proposition, and she added him to her growing tally of men. He got bored and left when the construction company called her back, though. She couldn’t really blame him – all the details were pretty boring. The good news was, with a little monetary incentive, the construction company would be done by morning. With this in mind, she grabbed her bag of potions and headed off to the local bar. It was time to try out that Charmer potion and have a baby. (Which sounded terrifying to her.. but the letter had insisted on an heir.. so she had to comply!)

The bar was packed, as usual, and Lucian was there working, so she was going to have to be careful so as not to offend him. While waiting for him to have a spare moment so she could at least greet him, she met Cullen sitting at the bar, and got to know him a little bit.

To her surprise, it was apparently “bear night” at the bar, and guys in bear suits kept coming through the door. Everyone, including Caizey, got tense about it – which was silly, because it’s not like they were real bears! Taking a deep breath, she decided it was about time just to get this over with. She had a baby daddy in mind – he wasn’t here – but a phone call should fix that. Maybe she could meet him outside and Lucian would be none the wiser.

With this in mind, she chugged two potions. The Transcendent Charmer one the letter had mentioned, and an Alluring Aura one – just in case the Charmer didn’t work. Then she pulled out her phone and called the only full blooded Spellcaster she knew of in town – her arch enemy, Darrel. He claimed he couldn’t go out for the evening, and for a moment, Caizey was completely nonplussed about what to do. She watched a local, Chris, finally get fed up with the bar service and go to serve himself behind the bar, and a couple of bears chatting at a nearby table, and thought to herself about what the letter had said. Technically, her benefactor hadn’t said the baby had to be conceived at the bar, right? Just that she had to take the potion here. Maybe she could just walk over to Darren’s house and surprise him.

So, brazenly, she did just that. With his girlfriend standing right there, she planted a kiss on his hand, and giggled to herself at his shocked reaction. The girlfriend apparently could have cared less, and turned to go back into the house. Darrel reacted much as she figured he would, and recoiled. She tried to use the power of the Charmer potion, but that backfired.

So.. she tried again. That just made him angry… and before she knew it, he attacked her!

Startled, she fought back – and lost, of course. Then, she tried to apologize and start sweet talking him again… but he wouldn’t hear of the apology. The romancing worked, though, because of the Alluring Aura potion (he never knew what hit him, she was sure..) and soon she’d convinced him she was the most attractive sim around. He still hated her.. but apparently that didn’t matter much to him at the moment.

She drug him upstairs to a shower, and grabbed a couple towels off a nearby rack. Might as well get this over with!

It turned out it wasn’t as bad as she was expecting, and they managed to steam up the shower pretty well. Giggling again, she took out a pregnancy test and checked while Darrel wandered off, muttering something about dinner.

… Negative. Drat. Well, if you don’t succeed, try again, right? Wryly, she chased Darrel down and convinced him to go for another round in the shower. Obviously, she didn’t tell him WHY.. but then, he didn’t NEED to know, right?

Second try was the “Charm” (she laughed at her own play on words).. and she quickly left the house, being careful to hide the evidence of the pregnancy tests and to stow the towels at the bottom of the laundry basket in the corner.

By the time she got home, it was nearly dawn.. and there was a note in the mailbox stating that all the work she’d contracted for was complete. Gleefully, she checked everything out, chugged a needs potion, and headed to the basement to her newly finished workroom.

She was definitely going to need some more potions. Time became irrelevant as she worked, although she stayed very aware of how high her spellcaster charge was getting. She didn’t want to find out what an overload would do to the little bundle in her belly.

By mid afternoon, she had restocked her potion supply, and become a Virtuoso. L Faba would be so proud! And – for that matter.. Caizey was pretty proud of herself, too. She’d accomplished so much in such a short time. It hardly seemed real.

Heading upstairs, she whistled happily to herself while taking care of her garden, and harvesting her money trees for another 150k. No sense in leaving all the money on the trees, right? Once everything was done, she chugged another Needs potion, and made a phone call. Time to really get to work on that aspiration – because she didn’t want her baby to grow up with a bunch of randomly rotating “uncles” coming over to visit.

Making up with Paolo was the first thing on her list, and he was quick to act like he was the one who needed apologizing. Which was, quite frankly, hilarious.. and it took everything Caizey had not to break into full laughter over it.

She sent him home, and called the next guy on her list. Deangelo. She’d met him at the bar, but she didn’t remember when. Did it matter? Nope. He was just as gullible as the other guys she’d met….

… and before long, she’d conned a first kiss out of him and convinced him to be her boyfriend. Then she sent him home. And decided to take a walk. It was Harvestfest, after all… And it was a gorgeous day outside.

To her surprise, she ran across one of the bears from last night – Glen. Taking the opportunity, she spent some time getting to know him.

He never knew what hit him. Another kiss checked off her list.

On the walk home, she ran across the other bear, Robert. Laughing to herself, she made sure no one was around and quickly romanced this guy, too. This was too easy.

That’s pretty much how the day went for Caizey. One guy after another, a needs potion or two.. and she just kept racking up kisses for her aspiration. Then she figured out she needed actual boyfriends and dates for the next part. Sighing, she went through her phone book again, and made things “official” with her beaus.

She did finally manage to find out what Glen looked like without the bear suit, though – so that was a bonus.

With the last guy sleeping soundly in her bed, she counted the third successful date of the day under her belt, and took a moment to appease the various gnomes running around her house.

… Just in time, too. Caizey completed her aspiration with mere hours to spare. Now she had nothing to worry about except the baby.

She could do everything else on her own – she figured she had this baby thing in the “bag”… and she quickly made use of the bassinet she had bought. A short while and a lot of pain later –

… and a little baby girl that she named Kailyn Farstrider was born. She had her “heir”. Caizey wondered she sort of quest little Kailyn would get when she grew up, whether it would be as easy as the one she herself had been given. Tucking the baby into her bassinet, Caizey wandered downstairs to take care of her garden.

Then, while paying the bills, she had a thought. Why did she need to clean house or take care of the garden… it wasn’t like she couldn’t afford help! She got her phone out and called for the local maid and gardening services. She would just make sure to harvest the money trees before the gardener showed up each day. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them – but it was a lot of money to just leave dangling in front of a sim she didn’t know very well.

The week passed in mostly a blur. Sleeping, painting, baby care, potion making… she kept herself busy and before she knew it, the baby was up and walking around. Another room makeover later, and Caizey settled in to learn how to be a Mom. She was determined to be a great one, since she hadn’t exactly had one, herself. Pushing thoughts of her foster family away, she sat down to teach little Kailyn to talk. Life couldn’t be any better.

(A/N: I’ve never gotten this achievement before. I guess Harvestfest counts as a social event. Laughed so hard when this popped up. WTG Caizey!)

Chapter 1.7 | Chapter 1.9

Chapter 1.6 | Chapter 1.8

When Caizey woke, it was to the rays of sunlight playing in colors on the wall from the stained glass windows. Stretching happily, she crawled out of bed and groaned at the temperature. Apparently there was a summer heatwave going on. She found her hot weather dress, and headed downstairs. A couple of paintings later, she noticed that her stomach was growling, so she took a break from painting to get some fruit salad for breakfast.

Pulling her fruit salad out of the fridge, Caizey again smiled to herself about her new dining room furniture. And a bar – what had possessed her to buy a BAR! She didn’t even know how to make drinks! Chuckling, she shrugged. That just gave her a new project – learning how. If she ever had the time, that is….

She washed up her dishes and put them away, then headed back to her art room. The inspiration was clear today, and she carefully began work on what she was sure would be a masterpiece.

It turned out that Caizey was right. It was the perfect painting to keep, too, to commemorate mastering the painting skill. She made a mental note to actually furnish the living room… parlor? .. to match the painting, because it looked sorta silly in there by itself.

Pulling out her furniture catalog, she lost a few hours picking things out and planning what to spend. The poor catalog was now dog-eared all to heck, but such was life when you had a whole house to furnish!

Crawling back into bed that night, Caizey decided she had spent enough time alone this week. Tomorrow, she was definitely going to take the day off of painting and head out on the town. It was supposed to be even hotter, then, too, and spending time in her still-un-air-conditioned house just didn’t sound like fun.

She spent the next morning weeding her baby money trees, whistling to herself.

Then, she practiced her pick up lines in the mirror in the bathroom, happy to finally have a shower and bathtub. This house was really coming together, now! However, it was getting hotter, and it was long past time to get some socialization in, so Caizey headed out to the local bar.

…. And look who was here! Lucian! And who was that at the bar? Another handsome man. She surreptitiously greeted him, hoping that Lucian wouldn’t notice when she jotted down the man’s number for another day.

Wouldn’t you know it.. it was “Knight Night” at the bar – and there were a million people here. Caizey waved at a few familiar faces, and sat down to chat for a little while.

Finally, she decided enough was enough, and snuck behind the bar to get a hug from Lucian. He looked as overwhelmed by the crowd as she was, and was definitely amenable to calling in a replacement and heading out the back door with Caizey.

They drove a while, heading into Windenburg to the closest Nightclub – the Narwhal Arms. Caizey had a blast joking with Lucian on the way, and she was more than willing to hop straight onto the dance floor with him when they got there.

Luckily, this weren’t quite as crowded here, and there was plenty of space to “get her groove on”. Lucian laughed at her antics, and they shared a grin over the music. Even the DJ got a little carried away and put the music on auto-play, coming down from the booth to dance with everyone else.

Later, on a break from dancing, Caizey and Lucian found a quiet corner to get to know each other a little better.

Spying a random closet, they took advantage of it – although Caizey was pretty sure several other people in the club noticed. Lucian was ready to head home since he’d had a long night – but Caizey was not, so they parted ways. She was sure she could find a ride home… and started glancing around the club again.

Bingo! Caizey wondered why all the bartenders seemed to be hot in the area, and headed over to make his acquaintance. She made a stop by the flowerbed outside the front door, and picked a rose to surprise him with.

It turns out his name was Blaine, and he was so Self-Absorbed he hadn’t even noticed Lucian and her antics from a bit ago. Which worked out in her favor – and she quickly charmed him completely. He called in a replacement, and Caizey agreed to meet him outside.

On her way there, she noticed the pompous guy from the other bar than she’d given the potion to.. and she chuckled to herself. It didn’t look like he remembered her, though, luckily.. and she pretty much ignored him.

A heated kiss later – Caizey noticed out of the corner of her eye that Paolo had spotted her and Blaine. Oops! Guess she wasn’t going to worry about calling him again! She made her excuses to Blaine and hopped on her broom to go visit the Magic Realm and escape this crazy club.

She related the entire hilarious story to Morgyn – who appreciated a good laugh, then Caizey charmed her out of the last couple of Mischief spells she needed for her spellbook. After a little practice session, Caizey decided that she was so close to having a full spellbook – there was certainly no reason to stop now.

She tracked down Simeon, and after a bit of light conversation, she managed to get her last two spells out of him. She now knew all the spells, and the potions, too! She hadn’t completely topped out her experience bar to Virtuoso, yet, though, and so she found some more folk to practice her new skills on.

She reveled in the way the magic sparkled in her hands and she threw spell after spell. Her opponent blocked a few spells, but he couldn’t block them all.

Soon, a well-placed zap spell knocked him off her feet and netted her a few simoleons. What luck! – Or was it skill? Caizey smirked to herself and headed off to the basement to mix up some more needs potions.

L. Faba grinned at her as she walked by, and they shared a smile. Her mentor was incredibly proud of all that she had accomplished, and all the duels she won. Caizey was sure she had heard about Caizey mastering her spellbook, too, since the three spellmasters were very close friends.

Finally, exhausted, Caizey headed home. Her comfortable canopy bed was calling her, and after a lovely bath, she fell into a sound sleep, dreaming about dancing spells and grown money trees.

(A/N: This story is now on “break” – but don’t worry, Caizey will be back in August. If you’re interested in stories like hers, feel free to check out my “Foreshadowed Sunset” vampire story – I have 8 new chapters of it coming in July! .. and 15 chapters from my Mermaid Legacy story, “Tails of Sulani”, also coming over the next month. Caizey will see you again in August, and I’m so excited to be caught up on posting her story finally so I’ll be able to dive back into playing her. She needs an heir, after all… and that house needs wallpaper!!)

Chapter 1.6 | Chapter 1.8

Chapter 1.5 | Chapter 1.7

Days later, Caizey was back in the Magical Realm, working on some more needs potions. She had workers all over her house back home – installing a greenhouse in her backyard. The new windows she had ordered were due to come in in a few days, too. With all the noise the workers were making, she hadn’t been able to think straight, so she decided it was time to work on her magic some more. Perhaps they would be done by the time she got home!

Simeon, the Practical magic teacher had turned out to be a great friend. Whenever she got the chance, Caizey spent some time with him, either chatting or training. She felt she was pretty much at the end of where she could go with her Mischief magic, so concentrating on the other two schools of magic kept her occupied.

She was also steadily improving her dueling skills. Not only was she winning, she was having fun with it. Sure, it was frustrating to lose occasionally – but winning usually netted her some more ingredients and sometimes even money.

Really, things couldn’t get much more perfect if she wanted them to. If someone had told her where her life could go a few weeks ago, she never would have believed them…. and there would have never been a question in her mind as to whether to take the crazy offer her “benefactor” had offered.

After that last duel, Caizey’s phone went off – apparently the workers were done with her greenhouse. She could wait to see it, however, because there were more duels to be had. Lots of them.

She had won every single duel. Even the one against Darrel Charm – the braggart who said he couldn’t be beaten because of his Ancient Bloodline. With a bag full of new ingredients and a wide smile on her face, Caizey hopped on her broom and headed home.

The new greenhouse was amazing. It just needed a coat of paint – but she could do that on her own. It’s not like she didn’t know her way around a paintbrush! Caizey had also discovered a loophole. You were only supposed to get one Money Tree – but nobody made the seeds immune to magic. Her Copypasto spell had worked admirably – and she now had enough plants to seed the whole greenhouse with Money Trees. If one was good, more was better, right? All she had to do was wait for them to grow and her money worries were over forever.

That reminded her – she had to go check out her new bed, too. She put the new bed linens on it and gazed at it happily for a while, almost dumbfounded at how far she’d come.

Her comfortable bed could wait for a while longer, however.. because she still had to pay for those new windows she ordered. The smells of the magical herbs she had successfully grown filled the room with inspiration, and she painted late into the night.

Finally, her stomach growled loud enough to distract her, and she headed into her new dining room. She gazed proudly over the full table, and contemplated ordering a chandelier for above it. It was still a little too dark in the room for her taste. Then she laughed at herself wryly. She had bought a huge table and full kitchen for just her. What a silly thing she was – but she had the advantage, now, of being able to be as silly as she wanted with her life and her funds.

Days later – and who knows how many paintings, the workers finally finished installing the windows. She could finally say she had a real home. Granted, she still needed to put up wallpaper and finish furnishing the other rooms – but she’d made a real start to things.

The greenhouse was even fully painted now, with little money trees sprouting happily inside it. Life was perfect.

(A/N: I apologize for the lack of story in this post – there’s only so many times you can describe a duel and have it be interesting. Then there were the house pictures, which I really wanted to include so everyone can see this masterpiece, but they required very little in the way of explanation. I have one more post of this story to publish tomorrow, then this story will be going on the shelf until August while I work on Simnano in July. But the best part is, that last post will put me back to being caught up and ready to play Caizey as soon as July is over!)

Chapter 1.5 | Chapter 1.7

Chapter 1.4 | Chapter 1.6

There was something to be said about coming home to your very own house. With the sun shining, (although, strangely, it was also snowing…) and a plan in her head, things were most definitely looking up. She used her lamp and explored the house – a full two stories with a basement. The basement even already had a cauldron in it, and the bathroom upstairs had a sink and toilet, so she wouldn’t have to order those. Her first order of business was to order a few lights, and the basics necessary to at least make salads at home. A shower was definitely high on her list, as well – and a bed. But those could wait, being that she still had a healthy stock of needs potions. She happily painted away on her easel set up on the back porch while awaiting the lights, fridge, and counter, and luckily it didn’t take long to arrive.

She had the delivery people set up the fridge and counter in what would eventually be a kitchen and dining room, and she counted herself lucky that at least all the electrical outlets and such were already set up. A quick salad eaten while standing up prepared her for a marathon painting session, earning as much money as possible in as short a time as she could. She really wanted to get some windows in this house – staring at drywall was already getting old.

Before starting on her painting spree, she made a couple calls, and ordered some catalogs so she could get an idea of where she wanted to go with furnishings and window types. Sure, she had blueprints – but that didn’t mean she had to follow them – right?

The lighting wasn’t the best for painting, but the knowledge that she was in her OWN home, earning money for things that would be exclusively hers made all the difference. Inspiration flowed, and she gladly ran with it, making painting after painting.

Those needs potions were amazing – and they kept her going for hours. Caizey felt weird not eating, though, so she ended up making some more salads to eat on her breaks. After her painting marathon, she decided she should head out and start getting to know her neighborhood, too. I mean – it was Love Day!

On her way out, she decided to plant the stuff she had harvested from the magic realm, starting her very own garden. After asking a neighbor she found walking on the road directions to the pub that was supposed to be in Glimmerbrook, she headed in that direction, humming to herself.

Since she had some potions standing by that she wasn’t about to use herself – namely a nausea potion – she decided to try one out on the pompous jerk who gave her a weird look when she entered the bar.

Caizey had to hold back laughter when the potion started working and he ran for the bathroom. Served him right. Meanwhile, she romanced the cutest guy at the bar – one Paolo Rocca – and didn’t care what anyone else thought. Which was a great change for her from high school when she’d cared way too much what people thought of her. It was so freeing to not care!

A first kiss later, Paolo argued that he had to go home, so Caizey headed back into the bar and looked for new prospects.

Not seeing anyone of interest, she went up to the bar and ordered a drink. That was when she noticed the bartender. OOhhh! She chatted him up for a while, then convinced him to ditch work and go to the nearest museum for a date.

Lucian turned out to be a great date, and Caizey had a blast getting to know him.

He was very curious about her story about her benefactor, and her transition to Spellcaster – which gave them plenty to talk about. Apparently he had been born and raised in Sulani, and was always missing home. He talked about being able to commune with the Island Elementals, and his experiences swimming in the ocean. Caizey made a mental note to take a vacation out to the Islands when she could, because it sounded amazing.

For the second time that day – she found herself romancing someone… and Lucian was as into her as she was into him. Mind you – she wasn’t thinking anything permanent – god forbid! – but she was definitely thinking he was at least Mr. Right Now!

They ended the date with a passionate kiss, and Caizey went in and looked around the museum.

Caizey looked at some paintings – which ticked off some requirements for her aspiration, but she quickly found herself distracted by another romantic prospect. And since Lucian had left – she was going to need a ride home, anyway.

Kabir was from the city, apparently, and was just visiting the museum for the day. He was gorgeous, though, so Caizey took some time to get to know him a little better.

Another “first kiss” later – and she’d convinced him to give her a ride home. Love Day had been a blast. she was definitely going to have to do this speed-dating thing again soon!

After arriving home, she waved goodbye to Kabir, and settled in for another long night of painting. It wasn’t like she had a bed yet – and setting up a tent in her own backyard seemed a little silly. She definitely had more simoleons to earn – her home needed furniture, after all. And windows. Couldn’t forget those…. and before she knew it, she was lost in the catalogs, admiring stained glass windows. It was going to be a long night..

Chapter 1.4 | Chapter 1.6

Chapter 1.3 | Chapter 1.5

Caizey started her “day” with a rematch – she couldn’t resist. The duel went well, spells flying back and forth. A good hit gotten in at the end won it for Caizey.

However, perhaps she should have resisted the fight. Magic coursed through her body, leaving no spot untouched and tingly. She ended up flat on her face on the floor, and Spellcasters ran from all over to check on her. Apparently, it was something called “overcharge.” If you used your magic too much too fast, you risked this happening, and it could even result in death. So, since she was on a bit of enforced break, she took the time to get to know the other two trainers that lived at the magic center. One was named Simeon Silversweater, and he taught practical magic. The other was Morgyn Ember, who taught untamed magic. L. Faba was the Mischief magic teacher… and all three could teach potion recipes if your friendship was solid and they deemed you ready. After spending a couple hours, getting some new spells and potion recipes, and letting her magic drain back down to a healthy level, Caizey found another duel.

Both Morgyn and Simeon watched, for she and Tricia were well – matched. Ultimately, Caizey pulled ahead and went to find her next match.

Word definitely travelled fast in the magic realm. Caizey had her choice of young spellcasters willing to take her on. And with every duel, her style and spellcasting improved.

In fact, she won most of her duels this day. Then, feeling her magic getting too high again, she went to go experiment with a cauldron.

However, apparently that wasn’t without it’s pit-falls, too. A bad ingredient combination backfired on her and left her cursed, to the other students great amusement. She posed for pictures, and dealt with the ribbing good-naturedly as much as she could.

But one girl went too far. Furious, Caizey challenged her to a duel. The girl laughed and laughed at her…

… But she wasn’t laughing when the duel was over. Nobody bothered her after that. Partially because, once again, she overcharged and ended up on her rear. This time, however, she was ready for it.

She had purchased a familiar, because she had learned they would protect her from death in the event of another overcharge, which seemed sorta necessary. She also managed to get rid of the curse. Now she just needed a long shower….

… Which she took care of posthaste. She had named her Raven Steel – after the color of his feathers, and he was there whenever she needed him.

After another rest, Caizey was right back at dueling for prizes. Mostly they were just potion ingredients, but she needed those, too. So that worked just fine for Caizey.

She tried to celebrate too loudly every time she won, but at least a little celebration had to be done.

Her potion mixing continued to improve, as well… and she only very rarely messed one up. She credited her familiar for keeping her safe from curses, even though that wasn’t supposed to be one of his jobs.

Her friendship with her mentor, L Faba had improved to the point that they were now fast friends. Another Spellcaster Rank had come and gone, and still she got better. Things just kept looking up. However, she felt it was more than time to take care of affairs at home. She collected her things and headed back to her “box” of a house. She had a little more money than she’d had the last time she was there, and she’d found a lantern she could use to explore her new home. L. Faba wished her well, and gave her another spell and potion recipe to take with her. With a jaunty wave, and Steel at her back, she headed home. What a neat word. HOME. A smile spread across her face as she walked to the portal, through it, and out into the brilliant mid-morning sun in Glimmerbrook.

Chapter 1.3 | Chapter 1.5

Chapter 1.2 | Chapter 1.4

Caizey woke up disoriented and confused. It took her a while to remember that she was now a Spellcaster, in a tent at some weird garden house in a magical world. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. So much had happened in her life in such a short period of time that it was a little bit overwhelming. She sat there, lost in thought for a few moments, then took a deep breath and steeled herself for another new day.

Climbing out of the tent, she turned around and contemplated it for a while. Too bad it hadn’t come with instructions of how to pack it back up. Putting it up had been pretty self explanatory, but making it fit in that tiny bag it had come with? She wasn’t looking forward to it.

Stalling for time, Caizey looked around the area, and found a log that was ribbiting. Carefully, she pulled out the frog and set it aside – who knows what she was going to need for the “potions” that L. Faba had mentioned. And if nothing else – perhaps she could sell the frog to another Spellcaster who needed it.

Looking around some more, she found some wild plants, but they weren’t fully grown yet, so they weren’t ready to harvest. Caizey made a mental note to come back and look at them when they were grown, remembering that she had to grow some “Wild Mandrake” at home – whatever those were. There wasn’t a whole lot else around, so there wasn’t anything else to distract her, and she turned, resigned, back to her tent.

After a good half-hour wrestling with it, she managed to at least get it and the tent poles all packed back into that little bag – but it hadn’t been pretty. Packing back up her backpack, she headed back to the main building, her stomach growling. Some more mac and cheese was calling her name.

Mac and cheese made a strange breakfast, but at least it filled her tummy. Nobody joined her meal this time, but that was okay with Caizey, because she wasn’t feeling all that social this morning.

After cleaning up her dishes in the small kitchen, Caizey returned to the cauldron and did some experimenting. She didn’t come up with anything, but it was fun, anyway. She quickly lost track of time, and spent most the day playing with her new magic skills.

A nearby magic duel caught her attention, and she watched avidly, looking forward to the day when she could do that herself. The note had said she needed to be able to win duels. She wondered idly if there was anything to be gained from winning them. With that thought, she headed back to “her” cauldron, and experimented some more.

At dinner time, she walked through the kitchen – only to find that someone had left some books out on the table. Looking around, she found she was alone, and her Klepto fingers were itching, so she snatched the books and hid them in her backpack. Never knew when she was going to want to do some research on Spellcasters., and surely she would eventually have lights at home to read by, right?

Exhausted, Caizey went back to the greenhouse and set up her tent again. In the dim light from the portal, she fell asleep soundly, never noticing the people who came and went, looking at her tent in confusion. Apparently camping out in the magic realm was a novelty.

The next day, Caizey decided that randomly experimenting on cauldron was a waste of time, and she tracked down L. Faba, and requested some training. L. Faba was more than happy to help out, and taught her her first spell. Learning the proper motions that went with it took time, however. Luckily L. Faba was a patient teacher.

L. Faba also helped teach her how to do a potion, and how to experiment properly – which meant that Caizey could try to learn some new potions on her own. Today, though, at least she had someone helping, and she managed to successfully brew some Needs potions that would definitely come in handy later.

Caizey also spent some time trying to get to know some other Spellcasters, and even found one willing to be her first duel partner. She wound up her only spell and threw it…. only to have her opponent dodge it deftly.

Her opponent’s responding spell caught Caizey right in the chest, nearly knocking the breath from her. Gasping, Caizey tried her one spell again – and watched as it fizzled in front of her.

The next spell from her opponent knocked her flat on her back. Luckily it was just a friendly duel, and the girl quickly helped Caizey up and helped her dust off, making sure she was okay. Caizey wasn’t about to let this first failure go to her head, though, and vowed to keep practicing.

The days passed, one blurring into the other as she practiced and learned. Her spell motions slowly became more fluid, and her potions more effective.

Then there came the day that she finally figured out how to catch her opponent off-guard. Even L. Faba was impressed by the force with which she threw her spell, and Caizey almost felt sorry for her opponent.

Almost. It was her first win, though, and Caizey couldn’t help but celebrate. L. Faba smiled with pride, and the glow of success warmed her whole body. She could get used to this!

Caizey had been making use of the Needs potions she kept brewing, which allowed her to sleep less and practice more. She also spent some time making friends. Or, at least, trying to.

She kept getting better at duels, and started betting potion ingredients on them, allowing her to get more ingredients every time she won. Granted, she still lost sometimes, but it was becoming less often. She was becoming a real Spellcaster, and her rank even improved, allowing her to learn more spells and potions. Life was good. She was still poor, and she hadn’t gone home.. but that was okay for now. She had other priorities.

Chapter 1.2 | Chapter 1.4

Chapter 1.1 | Chapter 1.3

Caizey held her train ticket in sweaty palms, and watched the train pull up to the station. She couldn’t believe that this was what she was going to do… and her stomach was tied in empty knots. Once she got on that train, there was no turning back. She had already determined that there was no way she could afford a ticket back to Oasis Springs once she got to Glimmerbrook. Turns out trains were expensive. She had already placed a call to the Gallery where she had been working, and quit her job.. and her last hundred bucks was still in her pocket. This just HAD to work out.

The train whistle blew, and, with a heavy sigh, Caizey walked to the train, and pulled herself aboard. Turns out the ticket really was valid.. and she was on her way. She absent-mindedly found a seat on the train, and looked out the window. She wondered what the rest of the day would be like, and whether she would ever see Oasis Springs again. Tears appeared at the edge of her eyes, and she fought them back. Hopefully, this was a good thing, right? She was going to have her very own home. Things just had to be looking up… because there certainly couldn’t be any way for them to still be going down.

Before she knew it, the train had arrived in Glimmerbrook, and she was deposited, mostly alone, on the station platform with her battered luggage. Based on the hand-drawn map on the back of the letter, she should be able to walk to her new home… and, at a loss for what else she could do.. she picked up her bags and started walking.

An exhausting hour later, she walked up to a huge house. If you could call it that. No windows, no wall paint.. But the guy was right, it did have doors. And a roof. Hardly able to believe her eyes, she dropped her bags, and walked up to the front stairs. The mailbox flag caught her attention, and she pulled down the door to the mailbox to find another aged envelope with her name on it. Inside, she found a key. And nothing else. Grasping the key, she walked up to the door, and tried it out. It worked! The door squeaked open, and the smell of dust and cobwebs assailed her senses.

Stifling a sneeze, she walked in, and simply stared. In the darkness inside, she could JUST make out a pile of things in the front room. A bundled-up tent, a box that said it contained an Easel, a set of paints, brushes, and some canvasses, and a tube like you would store posters in. Curious, she drug the  tube out to the front porch where there was more light. Inside, apparently, were the house’s blueprints. Well, at least it was supposed to have windows. Apparently they’d never gotten quite that far.

Sighing in frustration, Caizey drug her bags inside, placed them by her new tent, and pulled out the letter to re-read for the thousandth time. The bit about the portal and the person to contact drew her attention, and, for lack of anything else to do – she didn’t have a flashlight, and the house was too dark to explore without one – she dumped out her backpack on the floor. After re-packing it with the tent and painting supplies, She locked up and pocketed the key.

The path the letter talked about was easy enough to find, and it led on towards the sound of rushing water. Following it, eventually she stepped out on to a huge cliff at the top of a waterfall. The portal the letter mentioned was right there – and – with her heart in her throat, Caizey stepped up to it. Reaching her hand out to it tentatively, she could feel rushing air and a spinning sensation appeared in her head. Resolutely, she took a deep breath and stepped into it.

She nearly ended up on her face with dizziness in a twilight world, and she was immediately sure that those portals were going to take some getting used to. Looking around herself, she righted her clothes, and walked towards the immense building in front of her. Someone was coming out the door as she reached it, and making quick inquiries, she was pointed in the direction of the basement steps to find this L Faba person.

L Faba turned out to be a light-skinned, lilac-haired woman with a welcoming smile. Caizey introduced herself, and L Faba said that she had been expecting her. She went into a long explanation about what was expected of a “Spellcaster”, and Caizey tried her best to listen.

After a few minutes, she broke into L Faba’s monologue.

“I’m confused.” Caizey started. “I’m not a Spellcaster – how am I to do all these things expected of me without being one?!”

“Oh – of course.” L Faba replied, “I forgot the most important part.”

With that, and a quick wave of her wand, L Faba flung some purple bits of light into Caizey’s face.

“Go outside, and find me seven motes. You’ll know them when you see them. Bring them back to me.”

Feeling even more queasy, Caizey climbed the stairs, went outside, and immediately noticed the “motes” that she hadn’t been able to see before. They were little balls of light, and they were scattered around the lawn. Quickly, she went about picking up seven of them, and before long, she headed back down the stairs with the globes of light.

L Faba seemed delighted, took them from her, and asked her to step back.

Caizey stepped back, unsure of what was going on, and watched L Faba begin to wave her wand again. This time, a blue light emanated from it, and Caizey felt herself pulled off the ground into the air.

A tingling sensation travelled the length of her body, and settled in her fingertips as her feet again touched the floor.

“There.” L Faba said, “Now you’re a Spellcaster. You have much to learn, though, and I suggest you get to it. Don’t forget all I told you, and, above all, follow your heart. When you’re ready, come back to me, and I can teach you spells and potion recipes.” And with just that, she abruptly turned and headed upstairs, leaving Caizey standing alone near the huge cauldron, more than a little bemused. Shaking herself to get rid of the lingering tinglies, she followed L Faba up the stairs, and immediately began exploring her surroundings. After finding all the rooms in the main building, she went outside, and found some more portals.

Going through one of them, Caizey found herself in a marketplace of sorts with a beautiful fountain in the middle. It seemed mostly deserted, though, and she wondered where everyone was.

Out of curiosity, she approached the stores, and talked to the ghosts behind the counters. Of course, everything was far too expensive, but it seemed there were wands, brooms to ride, familiars, spell and potion supplies, and even magical tomes to buy. Everything a Spellcaster might need – and then some.

Caizey stepped back from the stores, and thought for a moment. What next? Clearly, she was going to need money. And the best way to do that was painting. She set down her backpack, and pulled out the easel. Quickly, she found out that it wasn’t very hard to set up, and before long, she was hawking her wares like any street artist.

Before long, she had gotten her first commission, and she set to work.

People practically appeared out of nowhere, and watched her curiously as she did her work. It was terribly distracting, but at least she was able to make a little bit of money as the evening progressed. At least – she thought it was evening. It was very hard to tell in the perpetual twilight around here. After a while, she realized she was going to have to head back to the main building and find a bathroom. She quickly packed up and headed back through the portal.

Thankfully, a bathroom was easy enough to find, and Caizey was quick to make use of it.

With everything that had happened, her stomach was growling quite loudly, so she made use of one of the cauldrons placed around the building, and made a huge pot of mac and cheese. Several other Spellcasters came and joined her meal, and before long, she felt so much better.

She explored the bookshelves, and found a history of Spellcasters. Out of curiosity, she sat down and began reading. She didn’t get too far into it, however, before she realized just how tired she was… and she re-shelved the book, and headed outside to find a place to set up her tent.

After trying out another portal, which sent her to a lovely garden house with no one around, she decided this was probably the best place. Exhausted, Caizey set up the tent, struggling a bit with the rods and material for a while before the whole thing came together. Unsure how to feel about the whole day, she climbed inside, rolled out the sleeping bag, and crawled inside. Before long, she was blessedly sound asleep, in a dreamless twilight world of lights and spells.

Chapter 1.1 | Chapter 1.3