Grady Ruewen - Age 14 Grady Ruewen leaped back to his home at Brackenhills feeling a bit like an imp had gotten into his brain. Least to say, he was glad he had a nexus. Maybe this meant he was manifesting! That would be exciting. His dad, Easton, was cultivating some news trees nearby with the gnomes. Pures. Easton straightened when he saw his son and waved. Grady waved back. Personally, his dad's job bored him. Although, he didn't understand exactly what it was. Something with trees, he guessed/ Easton came over to Grady. "So, how was school, son?" "Good." "You know I expect some details," Easton said. Grady knew all right. "I got 100% in Elementalism today." Easton clapped Grady on his back. "Good job, son! I've got to get more seed from the storeroom. Perhaps you'd like to stay and watch?" "No thanks," Grady replied quickly. "I should, uh, get started on my homework." Easton looked slightly disappointed for a second then he smiled. "Of course. I'm proud of you, Grady." "Thanks, Dad." Easton headed to his seed storeroom (yawn) and Grady decided he should probably do his homework like he said he would. Then a roar caught his attention. He whipped in the direction of the noise. A green-feathered T. Rex was facing off with the gnomes that had been helping Grady's dad. The T. Rex was definitely only a juvenile but still loomed over the short gnomes. "Stop!" Grady shouted at it. He ran between the dinosaur and the gnomes. "Back off!" If only there was a way he could make it leave on its own... Instinct kicked in and Grady narrowed his eyes at the T. Rex. Suddenly, he found himself in the dino's mind! 'Leave,' he commanded it. And it obeyed! Grady fell on his but as the T. Rex left and he lost connection with it. "Did I just do that?" He stuttered dumbly. "Grady!" He heard his mom, Leonie, call. "Are you okay?" Easton asked, kneeling next to Grady. His blue eyes, the exact shade of Grady's, scanned his son for injuries. A horrible thought came to Grady's mind. "W-we tested as Mesmers today. D-do you think-? I'm a-?" "Probably," Easton agreed. "Congratulations!" Leonie said, joining her husband. Grady scrambled back. "I don't want to be a Mesmer!" He shouted, fighting to keep the tears from coming. Crying at his age was stupid. He spun on his heel and ran all the way to his room, locking the door. Someone tried at the doorknob. "Please, unlock the door, Grady," Leonie begged. "Never! I'm never coming out again!" Grady snapped back. "Grady, be reasonable! Mesmerism is a fine ability," Easton said. Grady didn't reply. He'd make his parents but he was afraid of his ability. That's why he didn't want to be a Mesmer. He was afraid he'd lose control. Maybe he'd accidentally hurt someone. But after a night of coming to terms with his new ability, Grady knew he just had to accept. Maybe no one would care. They might even think he was cool for manifesting such a rare ability. In the morning, he got ready for Foxfire as usual. "Good morning, Grady," Leonie said, phasing through the wall. "Are you feeling better?" Grady bit back a snappy response - because he wasn't a child who had a tantrum - and simply said, "Yes, Mother." Leonie smiled. "I'm so proud of you. What an amazing ability." Grady didn't tell her he'd rather be a Phaser like her. "I'd better be going. I don't want to be late." Easton smiled proudly at his son. "That's the old fight!" "Dad," Grady groaned. "That's a human saying." Easton shrugged. "To each his own." "That's another human saying," Grady muttered. "Foxfire!" He called to the Leapmaster and leaped to Foxfire. "Greetings, prodigies!" Dame Alina's face appeared on the large glass pyramid. "Good morning to you all-" She paused to check her reflection. "-and today, three prodigies have manifested! Congratulations to Level 3, Calliope Vernice, our newest Vociferator; Level 3, Remi Zoland, our newest Flasher; and Level 4, Grady Ruewen, our newest Mesmer!" "Mesmer?" "Mesmer?" Whispers circulated. Grady gulped and avoided eye contact with anyone. //\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\/ At P.E., one boy was late. "What's your excuse? Lady Alexine accused the prodigy. The boy pointed straight at Grady. "He mesmerized me!" "No, I didn't!" Grady argued. Lady Alexine tutted. "Grady Ruewen, you may be a new Mesmer, but you know the rules. Two weeks of detention." Grady wanted to glare at the prodigy who'd framed him, but if he did, the prodigy might decide to blame Grady for mesmerizing him again. So, he kept his eyes to the floor and wished Dame Alina had never said anything. //\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\/ Grady Ruewen - Age 18 Grady was over the whole Mesmer thing. If he could turn off his abilities, he'd turn off his. He was ready to snap. He was in Mysterium, running some errands. The line -ugh! - it was so long! The cashier was taking forever! Come on... Grady narrowed his eyes, motivating the cashier to move faster.
Whoops. Um... he found himself doing that too often. He knew he shouldn't but...no one would ever know. "Grady Ruewen! How are you doing, young man?" The cashier, Amias, asked. "Um, fine," Grady muttered. "Doing just great." "Doing well in those Elite levels?" Amias went on. "Yeah." "Any lady friends?" "Um, not yet," Grady said, wishing Amias would move faster already! The embarrassment of having mesmerized him and the fear of being found out was pressing on Grady. "Take care of yourself, son," Amias said pleasantly, handing Grady his things. "Thanks. You too. Bye." Grady hurried out. Why did he have to be a Mesmer? //\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\/ Grady Ruewen - Age 20 Lord Grady Howell Ruewen You are invited to the Winnowing Gala of Lady Edaline Kelia Norward on the evening of Friday at Lakewood Estates. Lady Edaline, his... 6th? Something like that. He hadn't held his own Winnowing Gala yet so he'd yet to meet any of his matches. Grady leaned back in his chair. It looked like he was going to another Winnowing Gala. He'd been to a couple before but they hadn't been for people he was interested in. The evening of Friday, Grady got on his best jerkin and cape and styled his swwoping blond hair before he leaped to Lakewood Estates. He would never get used to seeing all those matches waiting to meet the person whom the Gala was for. In this case, Lady Edaline. Grady wandered over to the refreshment table and prepared to settle in for a long night. Always best to scope out the food options. A large beautiful mallowmelt caught his eyes. He'd definitely get in on that later. For now, he helped himself to a cup of water. An auburn-haired girl stood nearby in some shadows. Maybe that was Lady Edaline's sister or something. He might as well make conversation while he waited. "Hi," Grady said to the girl. He noticed how bright her turquoise eyes were. "I'm Grady. Grady Ruewen." The girl's eyes stared at him a few seconds. "Oh, h-hi," she sputtered. "I'm Edaline." Woah. So, this was Lady Edaline? She was gorgeous. "Nice to meet you," Grady replied. 'Make conversation,' he thought. "You must be nervous." She took a step deeper into the shadows. "Are you an Empath?" Grady laughed a little. "No. I wish," he said. He noticed hoe she seemed to enjoy the dark. "Are you a Shade?" "No, I'm a Conjurer." She snapped her fingers and made a book appear in her hands. "What's your ability?" "You like to read?" Grady asked, avoiding the question and gesturing to the book. Edaline shook her head. "I mean, I do. But this is different. This is a notebook I'm keeping. About mermaid migration." "Wow, that's cool. You must be into animals." "I am. I've always loved them." "Me too! I used to have a pet imp and once I met a T. Rex in my backyard. I was only a boy, though." "I'd like to hear about that," Edaline said, stepping closer. "There's not much of a story. It came into my yard and was threatening the gnomes that helped my dad. I chased it off though," Grady said. "Nothing much." "You never told me. What's your ability?" Edaline asked. Grady bit his lip. "Um, I- I don't want to talk about it." "Oh. O-okay." Edaline paused. "You do have an ability, don't you? Not that I care about all that stuff. I mean, it's not what matters..." "I do have an ability," Grady assured her. He glanced around. "You should probably get out there and start dancing or something. No pressure." Edaline sighed. "I know." She conjured her book away and stared at her empty hands. "Grady?" "Yes?" "Do you want to dance first?" Grady was caught off-guard. "S-sure." As he took her hand and looked into her brilliant turquoise eyes, Grady felt his heart beat something different. This wasn't the usual feeling he got when he went to a Winnowing Gala. This was...there weren't any words to describe it. He wanted to trust Edaline with knowing his ability. But what if it scared her? Grady shook it from his head and just enjoyed his dance with Lady Edaline. It was over too soon and she moved on to her next match. Grady went back to the refreshments table where a girl who looked like a younger version of Lady Edaline was cutting the mallowmelt. "Hi!" The girl said quietly. Her turquoise eyes sparkled daringly. "My sister really likes you, I can tell." Grady couldn't come up with a response to that. "I'm her sister, Juline," The girl said. Her auburn was shorter than Edaline's and crazier, like she couldn't be bothered to brush it much. "I'm Grady," Grady said. Juline's eyes glittered again and she shoved a plate of mallowmelt at him. Confused, Grady accepted it and took bite. It...was...INCREDIBLE. "Woah, did you make this? It's amazing." Juline smirked and shook her head. "Edaline did." Oh. So Juline was playing matchmaker. Figures. Grady watched Edaline dance with all her matches. Then, as people started to leave or wander to the refreshment, he started toward Edaline, but stopped in his tracks. She was already talking to another guy.
