11. Modern Day Malls

The mall was a building unlike any other Ardan had seen before. It was circular in shape with large, rectangular windows spiralling up the walls. Light glinted spectacularly off the glass, blinding Ardan as he gaped up at the structure, and he wondered if it was larger than the orphanage.

Elves of all ages and social classes hurried along the pathways, visiting friends or going about their weekend business, brushing past Ardan as he trailed shortly behind Pat and Sandria. They were debating about whether or not an ice-cream was appropriate during the shopping trip.

Ardan wasn’t paying attention to their conversation as he was so in awe of everything around him. The architecture made use of new technology such as holographic screens that starred young elves he assumed were influencers. The orphanage had censored these kinds of information, and Ardan had never been interested in them anyways.

As they reached the entrance, glass doors slid apart and a billow of cool air rushed out from within.

The inside of the mall was even more amazing. Hundreds of stores decorated the sides of the building, advertising their goods with flashing neon lights and products pressed against the glass windows. Looking up, Ardan witnessed at least ten more levels above and a large skyroof that the midday sun’s light dazzled through.

“Ardan! Where’re you going? You’re gonna get lost!” Sandria called from behind him.

When did she get so far away? Ardan thought as he spun around, only to come face to face with a young elf who looked around his age. Funnily enough, the elf had black hair like Ardan’s, except theirs was cut into short spikes and was dyed white in the centre. A pale blue screen popped up next to his head that read ‘Shiloh’.

“S-sorry.” Ardan apologised, taking a step back.

It was at that moment when Ardan realised this Shiloh character was seriously short, at least a solid head below him. He seemed to be about Ardan’s age, with heavily tanned skin and jet black eyes.

“Aw man, don’t worry ‘bout it!” The elf gave him a hearty grin and winked at Ardan cheerfully. “You look new around here. Don’t get lost, ‘ey?”

Hefting up a large pot with both arms, Shiloh strode off, leaving Ardan to stare down at the floor in humility.

“Hey! Ardan!” Sandria said as she rushed towards him. “What happened? You ok?”

Embarrassed, Ardan looked up and the tinge of scarlet slowly left his cheeks. “I wasn’t watching where I was going and accidentally hit a guy.”

Sandria smiled and shook her head before whispering: “Looks like you should put some points into ‘sense’ then.”

A moment passed and the confused Ardan didn’t know what to say.

“I’m kidding!” She burst out laughing, trying to ease his discomfort. “Come on, let’s go shopping already! There are tons of cool things to see here!”

Grabbing his wrist, Sandria raced off, weaving through the crowd of people, dragging Ardan behind her.

The pair reached Pat within seconds, who shook his head at them disapprovingly.

“Come on now guys. This is a shopping mall, not a playground you know?”

“S-sorry.” Sandria said, giggling between heavy pants.

Pat sighed, gesturing toward a small glass room with seats lining the walls. “Have you ever ridden in an elevator before, Ardan?”

Ardan shook his head curiously before replying. “No…? What’s that?”

Smiling, Pat walked into the room and pressed a button on the wall, sitting on one of the seats. “This is one of the greatest magic inventions of all time, you know? Come in and I’ll tell you how it works as we go up.”

Now that intrigued Ardan. This glass box was magic? Interesting…

The room creaked as he cautiously strapped himself into the chair next to Pat. Four elves filled four seats around the room before the sliding doors closed.

“So… what happens now?” Ardan whispered, breaking the silence.

To answer his question, Pat pressed a button beside him and the whole box lifted off the ground.

It was flying.

“This will bring us up to the sixth floor.” He stated.

Ardan was astounded. “How are we flying?”

“Magic. To be more specific, rune magic. There are runes carved into the base of the elevator, which makes it float when activated.”

Thank goodness I learnt about magic yesterday, Ardan thought. “Doesn’t rune magic warp or change the material it’s crafted on?” He asked.

“Not bad, kid. You know your stuff! That’s true, but there’s an activation rune that can be applied to make whatever runes are on that material to deactivate, or another rune to activate.” Pat explained.

Ardan nodded, mentally processing the information. “So how exactly does this ‘elevator’ work?”

“There is a ‘weightless’ rune at the bottom of this platform, which makes it and everything inside it weightless. After that, there is a fan at the very bottom of this cylinder that will blow us up.”

“Is the fan magic too?” Ardan questioned.

Pat chuckled before replying. “No, no. That’s technology. The only magic in this machine is what makes it float and the ‘lock’ rune that gets activated once we reach a specific floor. The button that I pressed earlier sends a message to the motion sensors on the sixth floor to activate the ‘lock’ rune on that floor once it detects motion - or in this case, the elevator. When that happens, the glass will be locked to the platform around it and we’ll be able to walk out.”

“Woah…” Ardan muttered. This whole system seemed so complicated and intricate that he didn’t dare to question further. It was confusing enough with the little amount of information he had received from Pat.

A minute later, the elevator stopped on the sixth floor with a jerk. The trio unstrapped their seatbelts and stepped out of the elevator. Unsurprisingly, Ardan was exhilarated from the experience.

“Hey Pat, what other things use magic?” Ardan asked, walking alongside him.

“Hm? Oh. Actually, not that many. I think the elevator is the only common equipment that utilizes magic.” He replied, walking straight for a particularly flashy retail store branded ‘TEGA’.

Tagging along, Ardan couldn’t help but wonder why magic wasn’t used more often, if it was so useful.

+ - + - + - +

“My feet are hurting,” whined Sandria as they left the building.

Two hours had passed since entering the mall. Ardan and Pat were carrying multiple bags of stationery, clothing and other various objects for Ardan’s transition into the Hue household.

“Alright, we’ve got quite the haul.” He peered down into the bursting plastic bags. “I think there’s enough clothes here to last you a lifetime. Who’s hungry?”

“I’m not really that hungry-” Ardan began.

“Can we get ice-cream?” Sandria burst out, interrupting his sentence.

Pat sighed and smiled sadly at Sandria. “Your sweet tooth is worse than your mother’s-” He paused mid sentence, realising that he had slipped up. “A-anyways. Ardan, do you want anything?”

Ardan shook his head and replied. “No, I’m good for now.”

“Alright. I’m sorry to ask you this, but can you stay around here and watch over the bags? You can wander around the area - just don’t go too far.” Pat said, followed by an apologetic smile.

Ardan nodded and in a moment, the two disappeared, his view obstructed by the masses of people.

A few minutes later, Ardan started to really feel the sun beating down on his body. He regretted not going to get an ice-cream with Sandria. It was a terribly hot day and the spot that he stood in had no shade whatsoever. Since he had to keep his bandaged arm hidden, he couldn’t take off his hoodie either.

“Surely there’s somewhere I can sit…” He muttered, looking around for some shade.

Then for the first time, he noticed a small stage to the side of the mall, just a hundred metres away. In front of the stage was a large shelter where many people stood, applauding the performer.

It’s only a short walk away… Surely Pat can find me there, right?

Ardan squinted up at the sun once more, before coming to a decision. The sun wasn’t getting any smaller and the temperature wasn't getting any cooler. Hefting up the shopping bags, he slowly weaved his way through the crowds to the stage.

“Welcome all! This is a demonstration by the Manera Magic School!” A presenter boomed.

That caught Ardan’s attention. Glancing up, his height made him tower over the audience and gave him a view of the stage. Upbeat pop music started as two male and female elves strutted in from either side of the platform. They were dressed in four different coloured blazers; white, cyan, red and brown. The guy wearing light blue dipped his hands into a large terracotta pot, drawing out a large stream of water. While this was happening, the girl wearing white opposite him did the same, except hers was made of rippling air.

Intrigued, Ardan pushed his way through the audience in an attempt to get a better look.

The two elves drew their streams backwards, twirling it around their bodies like the fancy ribbons ballerinas used. As they were doing their show, the two at the back stepped forward, the girl wearing brown levitating a giant rock over her head. The crowd hushed in anticipation, but applauded politely as the girl shattered the rock, every individual piece hovering in the air.

She slowly directed the pieces into a strange formation above the stage, where the boy wearing red prepared for his part. He activated a lighter and spread the flames across the rocks majestically. Suddenly, the stones burst into flame and Ardan realised the shattered stone formed words in the sky.

Manera Magic School - Enrol Now!

Ardan stood in awe, staring at the giant, floating text in front of him. And at that moment, Ardan knew what he wanted.