“Ugh.” I groaned.

Early morning light streamed directly into my eyes. “Uuuuuuugh,” I groaned louder. I was not alone. Most of the orphans were groaning.

“Wake up!” A loud voice said. I looked over to see Miss C. she had a curtain in her hand, “Five more minutes Miss C,” I begged.

Miss C was an elderly lady, and I would place her age around 70, Maybe a little older.

”No!” She said, “We’ve been over this. Get up and get ready for the day.” She said

She looked directly at me. “Just because you are older, Alex does not mean you are excluded,” she said to me.

I scowled. Sure I slept in a little, but what else would I do? I didn't have any studies.

“What’s for breakfast?” I heard one of the many kids in the room say. His name escaped me. I just didn't care enough to remember. I didn’t care about breakfast or the names of the kids around me. Kids just came and left like an old fart in the wind. While I tended to… linger.

The morning routine went by relatively quickly, or as quickly as a boring slop-filled breakfast can. I had no interest in what the other kids were doing, and I was busy reading an old and worn-out book about Leonardo da Vinci’s many creations and how they influenced future designs. I must have read the book a hundred times, but that went for most books in the limited Orphanage’s library.

It wasn’t like I had a lot of things to do. I didn’t have any friends to mess around with or learning to attend to. I had outgrown the lessons the orphanage provided, and I was still the oldest kid. The other older kids old enough to talk in complete sentences were less than friendly and more interested in their back alley shenanigans. But I can’t judge them. I mean, most of them came from a bad background. While I did lose my parents, I hadn't even had time to know them. I’m almost 18 now, and yes, my life, however dull, wasn't bad. The Orphanage staff did their best to take care of us. That being said, a few adults can’t take care of a hundred kids very well. It could be worse. I could be on the streets.

Despite my best efforts, that might be exactly what would happen. I was dew to turn 18 in only a few days, at which point I would be on my own. I had prepared the best I could. I read everything I was given. I had attempted as much as possible. And I learned everything available to me. Even though id did the best I could, it would be close.

To help me in my thirst for knowledge, I built my own little “computer.” really, it was the remains of many electronics such as phones, calculators, TVs, computers, really anything that ended up in the junkyard and had just enough damage to be thrown away. I used the laptop by hot-spotting it to one of the caretaker’s phones. This allowed me to use the internet to learn many things like Physics and Mechanics. The bare minimum because a cobbled-together computer that barely ran, on top of the fact that it was using an older phone's data, really didn’t work well. Especially since there were only a few satellites left in orbit.

It was late afternoon, and I was in a Junkyard just down the road from the Orphanage. I have been coming here for the last two years. This place is where I found the parts I needed. There was a hole in the fence that was blocked up by a piece of plywood. If I moved the plywood, I could squeeze my way in. thankfully, once I was through, it was easy to browse the cars, trucks, motorcycles, and any other twisted piles of scrap metal that used to be useful before it came here.

This day was just like any other in the last two years. I had come down here to get away from the others and had decided to check out the newest items that the owner had brought in. It was nothing much, just more cars and scrap metal, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to see if there was anything of value.

"A nice big cake would be good," I muttered to myself. What I found while rummaging around was not a cake but a book and some loose bits and bobs. I was just about to open the book, which I assumed was some college book on account of the cover saying “Teachers Guide” when “Squeak!!!!” shoving the book and bits into my bag I got up and began to run, “Who's out there?” Screamed the owner of the Junkyard. He and his dog Ram were the banes of all orphans and lowlifes who came here. Today he just happened to come out and see me.

“Go get him, boy,” I heard him say. My heart skipped a beat as I realized that the old man had just let go of his dog. I had seen what Ram could do to a raw turkey, and I was not looking to be next on his list of chew toys. I rounded the corner at full speed when I felt Ram nip my feet. It hurt, but that only served to make me move faster.

I was feet away from the hole in the fence when I heard, “get back here, boy!” Luckily Ram must have thought that the old man was talking to him because I heard the dog come to a halt behind me. I dived through the hole, quickly pulling myself through and running back to the Orphanage. Once there, I slowed my pace and headed to the dorms that I shared with the other orphans.

Once there, I found my bed and looked around. I didn't see anyone, so I lowered myself into a small room. I had found this little area on my own early in my career as an orphan. I was hiding under my bed, playing hide and seek with people I don't remember the names of anymore. When I fell through the floor, or what I thought was the floor but turned out to be a hatch that led to a little room only 10’x10’, I'm pretty sure that it was a cellar built before the place was an Orphanage to me though, it was a haven I could use for myself.

Once fully inside, I started to deposit my recently acquired goods and wrap up my hurt knee. A few seconds later, I was done having finished wrapping my knee. I had found an old chair that I managed to sneak down here. I sat down and took a look at my goods. There was nothing special, screws, bolts, springs, and the like, all of which I put into their respective places in my “Workshop”. I found myself with nothing but the book. I decided it was about time to see what kind of school book I got this time. Opening it up, I found the words Introduction to Runes and the World of Void Teachers Guide. “Damn,” I cursed.

Every once in a while, a fairy tale or fantasy book would make its way to me. I thought I would get myself a good book on Physics or something this time. But it was ok. I needed a good book, and this sounded interesting enough, so I figured it couldn't hurt and started reading.

The book surprisingly went into great detail about a world called the Void. It was a world parallel to our own where mysterious energy called Mana flowed. According to the book, this Mana could be called to our world and create physics-defying feats through the use of Runes, all of which had their meanings and uses.

“Man, this book is huge,” I muttered. It had an entire dictionary of these Runes, which I found weird as none were of any use and were purely for entertainment, or at least it should be. The runes themselves were not very impressive as they were just symbols on paper. But they were interesting to look at, and their descriptions were in-depth.

It seemed that if the runes were supplied with mana, they would perform an action based on the rune. For example, if the rune for the float were carved onto wood or some other material and supplied with mana, it would float. The height was decided based on the amount of mana inserted.

There also seemed to be limiting runes that, if applied to the same piece of wood, could be used to regulate the amount of mana used. This would then change the height. I found all of this fascinating if unnecessarily in-depth. I continued reading the book, but no matter how much I read it, it never seemed to end.

After 700 pages, I decided to just flip to the end. It was labeled 2546, which seemed far too large for the book's size and not to mention the amount of work needed for a work of fiction. On the last page, I surprisingly found the runes for Lengthen and Preserve, and I did not understand why they were there. “Maybe as notes?” I mumbled.

The more I looked, the more I realized they were giving off a faint blue glow, barely anything but there, all the same. I flipped to the dictionary of runes only to find that they did not glow but looked regular.

Then it hit me. “No, that can't be right,” I said, my voice rising slightly. It simply couldn't be true. I had to be wrong magic wasn't something that happened, and it was for kids' fairy tales and nothing more… unless. No, "I should just return this to the owner before I make a fool of myself," I said. I flipped to the front page to hopefully find a name or something. What I found instead was a date that read 1709, April 12. I stopped, stunned. No, that can't be right. But if it was, I might actually have a magic grimoire in my hands.

The book's length made sense despite its size or slightly glowing runes. But it would go against everything I knew. “Well, I guess the only way to tell for sure is to try” I decided that I would try to heal the ankle that Ram had bitten. I took a bit of bark from one of the last trees still around and carved the rune for Enhance onto it. According to the book, enhance did not necessarily heal it. Instead, it boosted the target, making it stronger and faster.

In my case, that would be my cells. I moved the bark to my ankle and attempted to use it. I was supposed to concentrate on my center and “force” my natural mana into it. Something we all pull from the void if the book is to be believed. Forcing the mana through my body felt weird, like water going down my throat but everywhere. It could be nothing because it felt muted? Almost nonexistent.

It poured out of me. At least, I think it did. I couldn't see anything coming out, and it felt too muted to tell. I felt something click, but nothing happened. “Oh well,” It was to be expected, nothing but a ruse. I felt childish for even trying. Clearly, it wouldn't work. I mean magic, really. Well, at least the bark looked cool. The rune was kind of cool to look at, a triangle in the middle with rays of light coming off of it.

I decided I'd keep it, throwing it onto the lawn chair. I was turning to climb back up when I caught faint glowing from the corner of my eye, looking closer. The rune was glowing, and I couldn't move, and I just stood there staring. When my mind started to catch up, I reached out to grab it when the faint glowing died out.

“no,” why did it go out? I rushed over, trying to figure out why it stopped or started, for that matter. When I picked it up, I felt a little shock come from the cushions I put on the chair to make it comfortable, and the shock seemed to jog my mind. Quickly picking up the book, I flipped to the first page. “Runes must be charged with mana before each use, whether through other runes or your own,” I had read. The following sentence, however, “In addition to this, most runes require a charge from friction or if at all possible lightning” This is where I must have gone wrong.

Throwing it onto the cushion on the chair must have generated just enough energy. I wondered why the book didn't say electricity. But then I remembered that this was written in the 1700s and must have been just before the discovery of electricity. For now, I decided to put those thoughts on the back burner. And attempt it again.

I repeated the steps, except for the carving, because runes could be used multiple times before needing maintenance or replacement. I charged it with mana and began rubbing the cushion with my spare hand. I felt the mana start to pour out of me just like before, only this time I was adding the friction part of it. I felt the click like before, but the rune began to glow instead of nothing happening. I quickly pressed it to my ankle, and it felt like a gust of cool air only concentrated. My foot began to heal visibly.