This article is seven of seven in Phase I of a sort of novel, the “Pentagon of Pandemonium”, which outlines the history behind an entire universe of lore that I’ve been creating since seventh grade. (Back in 2022, way before this blog started!) I’ve only posted one article about the complex world of Magicae since I founded Inside A Wandering Mind, when I was a freshman in high school. At the time, I was given an assignment to write a short story in High School English, and I chose to write about something that was part of the lore. Since then, it’s just been something I’ve spent my free time doing— finally, after years of working, my friend Tristan and I have decided to work together to create a novel on the newest additions to our world lore that we’ve been obsessing over for years. We hope you enjoy!
CONTENT WARNING – Some of the scenes in this novel may feature violence, profanity, or references to other mature topics that may cause discomfort for certain readers.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the authors’ imagination or used in a fictitious manner to serve the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Chapter 7 (1985) – The Orphan With A Dream
THE CHIEF OF GREENIA! Felix thought to himself again and again, his mind racing at the very thought. He read the form again and again, hardly daring to believe it. It was a genuine possibility. He, the boy from the slums of District 11 in Greenia City, had a chance to be the ruler of the greatest Empire in the world. It was impossible. But it was possible.
Mom and Dad would be proud. Felix had never felt so sure of that statement as he did now, rereading the form again and again to see if he’d filled in every last checkbox, every empty page, every essay question. Yes. Everything was filled out, completely, utterly, to the brim. He was lucky to have done well on the TMIMS, and he even had some remarkable achievements, compared to his lazy peers. This was his ticket out of here. Out of the slums. No more nights in the disgusting rooms that flooded every time it rained, with hairy spiders and slimy snakes entering through the cracks of the walls. Into the clean, extravagant royal halls of being the Greenian Chief. Yes, Mom and Dad would be very proud to see him here. A pang of sadness suddenly hit him. Mom and Dad. They would be proud. If they could see him.
Felix was only five when he was left alone for the past nine years. He could barely even remember his parents’ faces at this point; he could only recall the sweet smell of his mother’s baked bread, and even that was fading. His father was just a blur, someone who he’d heard a lot about but never quite knew.
It had happened at the Dragon Port where his parents worked. His Uncle described it as a dark, dreary day when he received the report from the police. There was a gaseous explosion in a tank where his mother worked. She had maintained the alchemical tank processors that helped regulate Dragon technology, but something was off that day when one of them suddenly blew up. She was lucky enough to not be caught in the initial blast; her co-worker had noticed that something was very wrong and guided her to a safety chamber. This, however, was a one-way escape route. She ended up trapped inside it when the pressure buildup in the processing room reached unsustainable levels, which caused a malfunction in the chamber’s door locks. After hearing the initial explosion, his Father, fearing for his wife’s life, ran straight to the processor room, but wasn’t so lucky.
The first explosion set off a chain reaction, which vaporized him into nothing but a mess of tissue and blood in a matter of seconds. His mother ended up trapped inside the safety chamber for twelve days because the authorities literally couldn’t open the door. They heard loud noises, crying, and screaming from inside her safety pod for three days after the explosion; the voice of a pleading woman, begging to be released from her prison, from being trapped. There was loud banging, Felix remembered the police describing, pleading, and crying. By the fourth day, the crying had died down. By the time the stupid police had figured out how to open the safety pod, all that was left inside was a lifeless, decaying corpse.
It had been a tragic end, and Felix saw them in his dreams often, even if he didn’t actually witness it happen. His mind came up with nightmares far worse than reality, and they still prevented him from sleeping well from time to time.
He shook his head, snapping out of his memories. Recalling what happened to his parents was never fun, but something about this new opportunity made him more reflective and sentimental. Nevertheless, he needed to finish filling out the form.
He looked at the bottom of the form one more time. He was fourteen, which meant he needed his uncle to sign the waiver for him.
All right, Felix thought to himself. That shouldn’t be too much to ask, even in his situation. Uncle Balthasar didn’t like doing his nephew favors, especially if it took more than a few minutes out of his time. Felix had learned to cook all his meals independently from a young age because he discovered he’d probably starve to death if he relied on lazy Uncle Balthasar to cook for him. Another thing he’d learned young was that his Uncle was an unemployed fat bum; all he ever did was drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, or gamble with whatever inheritance money he had left. Felix had gotten pretty used to smelling smoke around the house because his Uncle made absolutely zero effort to not do drugs around him. He’d tried talking to his Uncle a few times about this before, but it had usually resulted in him being given a purple eye for the next two weeks afterwards. For most of his life, Uncle had just leeched off of Felix’s parents for money. They’d gotten most of the inheritance once Mother and Father died in that horrific gas accident, but most of it was gone now due to his Uncle’s spending habits.
Felix crept carefully down the hallway to the door, completely unsure of what his Uncle was going to think. He smelt the stench the second he entered his Uncle’s room; a mix of cigarette smoke and whatever burnt food he’d been trying to cook for himself recently. Uncle was sitting lazily on the couch, huffing as he flicked a cigarette butt onto the floor under him, squashing it beneath the sole of his darkened shoe. He seemed to be in the middle of reading the newspaper… nope. Of course he wasn’t. Uncle Balthasar had recently been stealing Felix’s hard-earned money from math tutoring at school to buy adult magazines. He’d only put up with it this far because he knew he was going to need Uncle’s signature.
“Uh, Uncle Balthasar? C-can you quickly sign something for me real quick?”
Uncle Balthasar looked up at him, coughing before making eye contact. “Make me a grilled cheese sandwich, you little brat, and make it quick.”
Felix almost let out a sigh of frustration but held it in. He knew he had to do what his uncle said. He had fought countless times with him in the past, and most of those times just ended in being pummeled. He never actually got what he wanted, at least not without doing what his uncle asked. “Alright. But could we talk about something first?”
It wasn’t the first time Felix had defied his Uncle like that, but his Uncle reacted like this behavior was completely new. “What the fuck do you want?” He demanded.
“Just sign here; it’s for a competi—” Before Felix could finish speaking, his uncle snatched the paper from his hands and began to read it. Felix awkwardly stood to the side, hoping that his uncle would just put his name at the bottom. He felt his heart beating. Badum. Badum. He was so close; this was his chance. Just sign it! It’s not that hard… This could be my chance to rise from the slums! Oh, Universe, please, if all my suffering has meant anything, please let him sign the form.
“So you wanna try the Chief thingy, huh?” Uncle Balthasar asked sleepily, as if he were about to drift off into a pleasant dream. “It says here… eh, you could injure yourself or die. You sure you wanna do this?”
Felix hesitated for a split second; or rather, came the closest he would get to hesitating. “It’s—” he stuttered for a moment. “It’s not like I’m fighting a war or anything. They probably just put that to avoid public criticism or something. I’m just taking an exam. And think of what would happen if I won, right? I’d be Chief of Greenia! The ruler of the world’s most powerful country!”
“Mhm,” Uncle Balthasar grunted, glancing sideways again at his magazine.
“Uh— and I’ll be rich! I could buy you all the cigarettes, alcohol, whatever you want! You could gamble forever!”
“Sounds cool.” Uncle Balthasar still sounded bored; obviously, he wanted to get back to his stupid magazine. Felix decided he’d better be quick before Uncle lost interest, or worse, turned violent— he was very unpredictable in that way. “But you know— Zelena— he’s a tough guy, you know that, right? If you get… killed, or something, or hurt, I can’t— you know—do anything. Right?”
Not that you’d care enough to save me even if you could, Felix wanted to say. He obviously didn’t say that; instead, he replied: “I understand. And I’m ready.” He tried to look determined.
Uncle Balthasar paused, squinting his eyes as if he were pondering more than he did in his entire life. “Okay, whatever,” he decided, rolling his eyes. Then, he moved his arm over and grabbed a nearby quill before writing his name on the section.
He handed the waiver back to Felix, who grinned in elation. “Are you happy now, idiot? Make me my grilled cheese sandwich now, preferably with a new box of pills; the green-flavored ones should do this time. I want a water bottle as well, maybe two or three so I don’t have to keep calling you back. And knock before coming in next time, or I’ll knock your head into a screwdriver.”
Felix didn’t even care about Uncle Balthasar’s stupid sandwich. Right now, he felt like he could make him twenty sandwiches, or maybe even thirty. He was just happy that the form got signed, and that meant he’d be able to become the Greenian Chief. Relief still flooded over him; he’d doubted Uncle Balthasar would comply, but he did. Without argument, Felix eagerly nodded and left Balthasar’s room, quickly jogging out of there as quickly as he could. He felt elated, like he was flying. He’d never felt so happy before— his life had never felt so hopeful. He’d never seen this many doors opened for him to walk through. His uncle had given him a tough childhood, but for once Felix felt grateful. For once, his uncle may have given him a dream.
For the first time in his life, Felix found himself running to the other side of the apartment to get his uncle a water bottle. And he wasn’t scared of a beating, either.
phase ii/v – the lights turn off, coming soon.
