Getting Colorful

The prototype magic 3-D printer was done, and they were ready to make their first items with it. Bernard instructed some of the engineers on how to make parts for Zeph's new crystal necklace display. It would take a while for the printer to work on the components, but they could take notes on what they could improve upon.

Everyone in Aether Labs was excited to work for the lord of Asperitus. The man was a legend in the field of magic engineering. Sure, he had some scary rumors spread about, but they were all dismissed after meeting the man. Bernard Malston was a kind employer and helped whenever he could. He was very involved in the creation process, and everyone was happy to meet the inventor that they all looked up to.

He wasn't just kind either. The man was a genius. Some of his ideas were revolutionary and would change the world. If they could make half the stuff he envisioned, it would make Asperitus, and by extension Andronath, the most advanced place in the world.

One of the other teams was trying to create a spell script that could be used for three-dimensional spell diagrams. With it, they would be able to create weapons that could channel several spells with less space. It would also let them amplify the power the fewer spells they used. The first prototype they would make was something Lord Malston called a revolver.

The most exciting creation so far was something called a storage bracelet. Thought it was called a bracelet, it was more like a bracer and covered most of a person's forearm. Lord Malston originally wanted to create a ring, but it wasn't possible with their current capability. A few mages with an affinity for space magic were able to create an enchantment that folded space upon itself and create a small "pocket" attached to the bracer. With an activation word, someone could store and recall an object that would fit in a two-foot radius. It was an amazing breakthrough, and they estimated that they could increase the storage size in a few months.

Bernard watched his employees' excited faces as they worked tirelessly on different projects. It felt good to be in the thick of it again. They were doing things no one ever thought of before, at least not that any of them knew of. 'Wait for it son. In a few months, we will blow the world's mind,' the old lord thought to himself, as he grinned.

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A few days went by and Zeph was becoming good friends with Drew and Jimmy. They were on the training fields hiding behind a short wall of dirt Drew conjured up. Colored orbs of magic were flying across the field as the students were playing a large scale game of bolt. Small teams were made and Drew and Zeph managed to get Jimmy to join them. Lili decided she wanted to be on a different team so she could beat Zeph. If that wasn't enough, the little traitor decided to make alliances with the other students. Zeph's team was outnumbered and pinned behind the wall trying to come up with a plan.

Jimmy peaked over the top of the hill but had to duck back down quickly. There was a splatter of red light and liquid exploding right where his nose was a second ago. "Dang it, now Becca is after us. Do something about your girlfriend Malston!"

Zeph created a reflective sheet of water to look over the edge of the wall. "One, she's not my girlfriend. Two, I'm going to tell Rebecca you called her Becca. And four…." A bright green ball of liquid formed above Zeph's hand before it flew up and over the stone wall.

"Lookout!" Someone screamed before a small pop was heard.

Zeph smiled as he watched three people bathed in green magic. "That makes five for me, and three for you. So, you do something." The young lord laughed at Jimmy's annoyed expression.

Drew wished the two would quit antagonizing each other. "The only reason that worked is because you're broken and overpowered. How the heck did you make a color ball into tier one spell anyway? Those things aren't supposed to break through spell shields.

Zeph shrugged. "Eh, I'm just awesome like that." Just then he noticed a bright pink ball of light fly above them. He recognized that magic signature. "Oh, crap! Lili figured it out!" He created a powerful spell shield to protect him and his team. After the spell exploded, everything in a ten-foot radius around them was Lili's favorite color, pink. "Guess I'm up. Now that she's shown herself, I can quit holding back. You guys try not to get taken out." The young lord guarded himself with a spell shield before he ran out from behind the dirt wall.

Lili grumbled, "Dangit, it didn't work."

Ivy watched the spell surprised. "How did you do that Lili? That color ball had the power of tier one spell."

Lili smiled. "I'm awesome like that. Now that should get Zeph to quit being a turtle and hiding behind the wall. Then we can have some fun. Remember the plan?"

Ivy nodded. Then she saw Zeph come running out from cover, charging in their direction. She ran away from Lili as quickly as her little legs would carry her, so did everyone else. No one in the class could go head to head with these two nobles, and they were well aware that any of their spells would be blocked by a spell shield. It was in everyone's best interest if Zeph and Lili kept each other occupied.

Ms. Davis watched as her two problem children ran at each other firing balls of colored light. They weren't a problem because of their behavior, even if Lili could be a little… excitable. It was because they were already ahead of the class, and she couldn't speed up the lesson so they had something new to learn. She wondered why the two didn't skip grades. And the only reason she could think of was that they wanted to stay with Ivy. The little half-elf disappeared when Zeph made his charge, but Ms. Davis saw her trying to sneak around and get behind the young lord.

"Nice plan, trying to make me waste my energy on everyone else," Zeph said as a pink ball splashed against the invisible barrier in front of him.

"It would have been even better if it had worked," Lili said as she pivoted her foot and dodged Zeph's green blast. She didn't want to conserve her magic for attacking. Zeph's magic reserves were bigger than hers, so she had to fight smarter. The ice princess tried to surprise Zeph by creating two colored balls and sending them to the young lord from different directions.

Jimmy watched as Zeph tanked the pincer attack with two shields and clenched his fist. It was hard to admit it, but Zeph and Lili were on a different level. Because of a few bad memories, James Carver hated feeling weak. Most of all, he hated people who looked down on others because they were "Superior." That was why Zeph was a mystery to him. Even though Zeph had more power, influence, and money than anyone else that he'd probably ever meet, the young lord still wanted to be his friend. Everyone else he met that had those traits was a complete jerk. Jasper and Avery were a prime example.

Drew slapped James on the back. "Come on man, we need to make a move. There aren't many people left. We could win this."

Then the two boys heard a sweet melodious voice. "Bang." Ivy snuck up behind Jimmy and Drew and hit them with a bright yellow ball of color. The two boys were so focused on Zeph and Lili, that they didn't even notice her.

Jimmy watched as a pink silhouette was outlined by bright yellow. Lili and Ivy's attacks painted a funny picture of the two boys' crouching shadows. Drew turned around to see Ivy laughing at him.

Zeph and Lili were throwing colored blasts with as much power as they could manage, making sure to keep themselves guarded with spell armor and shields. It was starting to become taxing on the boy's magic reserves as he had to spend more and more energy to keep his shields up. Now he knew why Lili was trying to dodge most of the attacks. Bianca told him he should pay more attention to dodging, but he thought she was only referring to melee combat.

Lili frowned as Zeph ducked under a pink blast and sidestepped another. 'Crap, he started dodging too. Oh well, I'll let him keep that smug look on his face for a few more seconds.

The young lord was watching his friend's grumpy face with a great deal of satisfaction. He was pretty sure he would win, because her attacks were starting to get weaker. His eyes widened as he saw Lili make a charge at him. She was using a bunch of her magic to make one big blast. 'Oh crud, is she going for a suicide attack?' he thought.

Lili smiled, the plan was working. Zeph surrounded himself in several shields just as the girl got within a foot of him. Everyone else had already been sent to the sidelines, either by each other or as Zeph and Lili's collateral damage. They watched in amusement as the two young nobles were engulfed in a small mushroom cloud of pink smoke.

Zeph looked down at his pink friend. "Looks like you're out Lili." Then he felt a presence behind him and created a shield at his back. He turned to see bright yellow splatter across the shield and Ivy with her hand stretched out. "Sorry Ivy." Zeph lifted up his hand to send a green ball at the half-elf. Before he could, he felt something smack him in the back of the head, and then he was surrounded by yellow smoke.

Ivy smiled. "Gotcha."

Zeph turned his head and saw Ethris floating behind him. 'Crap, I forgot we could use spirits.' He looked at Rin. The little kitten was sitting comfortably in Ms. Davis arms as the teacher was scratching it behind the ears. She was only going to watch the kitten for him while they fought, but she could not resist the cuteness.

Lili stood up and used a cantrip to clean herself off. "Looks like we won Zeph. Now out with the ears, fluffy boy."

Ivy walked up next to him. "Yeah and we decided on pink. It'll make it funnier."

Zeph grumbled, "Come on you guys, they don't even know I can change shape-shift."

Lili poked him in the chest. "That's one of the reasons we're doing it. It'll be fun, watching their reactions. Got the tablet ready to record Vy?"

Ivy gave her friends a thumbs up as she held the tablet out in front of her.

"Fine." Zeph resigned himself to his fate. Two bright pink fluffy fox ears popped up on top of his head. They really stood out because of his black hair. Then a bright pink tail emerged soon after. "Why did you guys want me to do the fox tail and ears again anyway?"

"Because Ivy thinks you look really cute that way," Lili said, selling out her best friend again.

Zeph turned to look at the half-elf only to hear the sound of a shutter click and see her blush. Then he realized it was really quiet. He looked around and saw everyone else on the field staring at him flabbergasted.

Ms. Davis was told that Zeph was descended from a changeling when she enquired about her new noble students last week. Seeing it was shocking, to say the least. And the fact that he chose to make bright pink fox ears and a tail didn't help either.

Zeph smirked. "What, never seen a changeling before?" His ears and tail bounced for effect.