A Little Heart: Chronicles of the Graswangtal School of Witchcraft, #1

By Vladarg Delsat

Between the delicate balance of life and magic, Helen's vulnerable heart finds love.

 

Helen has always been fragile, so she knows firsthand that tomorrow is never guaranteed. Still, she's determined to live life and experience everything she can before her time is up. And she winds up at Graswangtal School—a place of sorcery and magic.

 

But Helen is not an ordinary student, as she soon finds out.

 

While learning everything she can, Helen meets another student named Philip. He seems to like her, so she tells him the truth—she doesn't have much time. She expects this to drive him away, but he stays. Between magic and learning, they discover one another and each find strength and joy in each other's company.

 

But fate has more surprises in store for them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: VD
• Release date: Dec 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223248613

Vladarg Delsat

Vladarg Delsat's profound experiences as a pediatrician and a father have shaped his literary voice. His eldest daughter's battle with a rare illness inspired him to write while infusing a sense of resilience and hope in his works. He's a multilingual author born in the USSR who now resides in South Germany. Vladarg's narratives delve into the lives of sick and disabled children, as well as their experiences in Russia and Germany. He's a family man with three daughters and an elderly cat. His passion for amateur radio further showcases his desire to connect with others, just as his books connect with readers' hearts, offering hope and a reminder of the unconquerable will to survive.

Book preview

Prologue

The Worlds of Tauris . Not created as a masterpiece of a demiurge, but rather arisen autonomously, the Worlds of Tauris bear a multitude of reflections, being themselves a reflection of the Original World. The Worlds where the laws of the universe are in force, where magic, witchcraft, sorcery take place... Demiurges may frequently be only observers, capable only of interfering at the behest of the World itself.

There is an enormous number of Tauris Worlds, and each of them has its own story, its own challenges, and its own adventures. By examining these worlds, demiurges learn both what is wrong and what is right, in order to prevent the mistakes in their creations leading to the collapse of the World. So...

...In the world of Tauris, inhabited by wizards and commoners, the enmity driven by envy had reigned for centuries. The consequences of the clashes were devastating and often entailed irreparable losses. Nevertheless, fate granted them the chance to gain peace and mutual understanding. This is how the Treaty between people and sorcerers was born...

Sitting at his desk in the chancellor’s office of the School of Witchcraft, Herr Richter sighs. The Treaty has always been a sore subject and still is. On the one hand, it was well conceived and even appropriate, but on the other hand... The chancellor of the School of Witchcraft looks back at the story of a girl who was almost slain by the Treaty, but by some miracle survived.

...the establishment of a boarding school dedicated to the instruction of young sorcerers who have reached the age of twelve. These children had to reside and take classes on the school campus in order to develop control over their abilities. This was necessary to avert accidental damage and destruction caused by mishandling of witchcraft.

Sitting at the table in the library, Philip Krone is reading a history textbook. He is aware that very soon he will be accepted by this school since he is twelve. What will it bring him? Having lost his parents early, the boy has no hope of anything good. Initially, he had an orphanage, which Philip has no memory of, then a foster family that seemed kind at first, but turned out to be just indifferent. With a heavy sigh, the boy turns the page.

In addition, the Treaty explicitly stipulated that sorcerers had no right to use their powers beyond defined areas of residence. This clause was introduced to prevent the outbreak of wars and conflicts between sorcerers and humans....

Herr Schlosser, vice-chancellor of the Graswangtal School, is compiling the lists. The first grade is to be split into A and B classes in advance, as at the beginning of the academic year there will be only a welcoming ceremony, and the classes are supposed to be well-balanced. What’s more, potential conflicts should also be suppressed. Having asked Herr Böse to supply Herr Neumann with health certificates of the prospective students, Herr Schlosser sighs – a sense of foreboding is disturbing him. However, there is work to be done. So, Class A: Wolfgang Müller, Philip Krone, Victor Ivanov, Louis Alexander, Willy Tekne, Frederik Stiller, Herman Birkendorf, Helen Bock, Ingrid Witke, Annemarie von Krzysztof, Gerda Mott, Sabine Kurscht, Renate Schmidt... There are only a few girls, but they’ve always been scarce among sorcerers, so it’s crucial to divide them into two classes.

Deep in the scenic mountains, not far from Geneva, in the area known as the Three Lakes, amongst splendid lakes and magnificent mountain peaks, lurks an unsurpassed wonder – the Graswangtal School of Witchcraft. Behind Rübetzal Mountain, at the edge of the mysterious Forest of Fairy Tales, this remarkable school becomes a second home for many young students from every corner of Europe....

Annemarie sighed – she would rather study at a completely different school, but no one is asking her, her daddy deigned only to inform her the other day. That is why the girl is now reading a book about the school she is to attend, as she is unwilling to face the consequences firmly promised to her in case her academic achievements do not meet expectations. After all, the snobbery of the von Krzysztoff family sometimes gets on the nerves of a quite modern child. Nevertheless, there is nothing to do but study.

The majestic school building is made of the stone of Mount Rübetzal and the processed wood of the Forest of Fairy Tales. Mysterious halls, wide corridors, and slender towers with high roofs create an atmosphere of mystery and fairy tales. Numerous bright classrooms, a library, a common dining room, and living rooms with units for cohabitation can be found inside the school....

Hans Richter is full of hope and desire not to let his father, the chancellor of the school, down. Neat and attentive to details, the young man is pedantic to such an extent that he barely has any friends. Every piece of information contained in the book is well known to him, but he keeps reading the volume The Graswangtal School’s Order and Rules, learning it by heart.

The Forest of Fairy Tales surrounding the school is full of ancient mysteries and fairytale creatures such as the Seligens, Gorgons, and many others. Here the trees whisper riddles and the streams dance cheerfully in their never-ending striving for the lakes. The Forest of Fairy Tales serves as a leisure area for students, where they discover the mysteries of nature, usually while communicating with mythical creatures. However, hazardous creatures also dwell in the Forest of Fairy Tales, so entering the forest is prohibited for students without an escort.

Renate Schmidt, a grey-eyed, chubby girl from an ancient sorcerer’s family that barely escaped the flames of the fires in the Middle Ages, has no interest in learning any rules at all. She is gazing dreamily at the ceiling, wondering about the legends of the Forest of Fairy Tales, where you can pick a magic flower, or be petrified. Although the girl suspects that in her family, with its backward traditions, it is feasible to get something quite different that she absolutely won’t be enjoying. In reveries of friends and mischiefs that won’t get anyone in trouble, the girl turns the page.

The Graswangthal School of Witchcraft gained fame for its gifted and heroic alumni. The portraits of the heroes involved in rescuing people during earthquakes and other natural disasters have remained forever in the school’s Hall of Remembrance. Education at Graswangtal School commences at the age of twelve from the first grade and lasts for six years – until the students reach adulthood.

Pulling a picture of his parents out of his pocket, Philip takes a long look at the people who passed away in his early childhood. Without any hesitation, they rushed to rescue other children during the earthquake. They did not distinguish between sorcerers and commoners, they just kept saving, though they could not save themselves. Hence, Philip ended up an orphan. The boy is wondering whether he could follow his parents’ example – save others without regard for himself. He has no idea yet that very soon Fate itself will give him a chance to make his own choice.

Chapter 1

My name is Helen, and I..., I... No, I won’t cry. I have a weak heart, and every day could be my last. It is a disease that is extremely rarely encountered. Dad didn’t want me to know this, but I eavesdropped on his conversation with a colleague. From now on, I live with the understanding that tomorrow may never come for me. At first, it was terrifying to go to bed, but then I got used to it. One can get used to everything. I found myself in books and studies since I was just too frightened at the idea of walking outdoors. Besides, I don’t have anyone to hang out with. Who would be interested in a girl like me? There is a bunch of stuff I shouldn’t do – running, jumping, crying... Swimming is allowed, but only under supervision and only a little bit – I fatigue too quickly. This is also due to my disease.

I have no future, I will never be able to give birth to a child, to be a mother, just because I can’t handle the strain. So, there will be no family. And what is the point of living if there is no happiness anyway? Love can end badly for me – affection, resentment... Once at school I was deeply hurt by a boy and I... it was like the lights were switched off for me in the whole world. The paramedics came in time and got me back from there. It’s bitter cold and spooky out there. And there’s nothing at all. Just a void where it’s very cold, that’s all.

Gradually my heart failure is evolving and one day I will turn into... My dad forbids me to say this word. I must think positively as depression is an awful thing. I tend to be positive, and I have hope. I guess. There is a very faint hope as the disease is so rare that it is not reasonable to count on transplantation. Although transplantation is by no means a guarantee: patients with a transplanted heart don’t live long – ten or twenty years. Though it’s still a chance. But not for me.

My dad and my psychologist coach me to be strong, resist resentment, and endure when I feel like crying. As what for other girls is weeping, for me is death. Well, almost definitely. And I just can’t die, because mum and dad will be devastated. So, I live for them. As long as I have left. To die is very frightening, the only hope is that it will happen in a dream.

I study more at home than at school, especially in spring, for then I get very sick. But just recently one gentleman came to visit us. He spent a long time explaining to me that I was a sorcerer, and I even laughed, thinking that my parents had invited him so that I wouldn’t be dеpressed. Then he replied that he was out of time and must have done something, which made mum and dad consent to follow him and sign me in. I was very startled because such behavior was uncommon for my parents.

At some big hall, I was signed in as a student, and although I was trying to explain to him, the man told me to shut up and not to take up busy people’s time, which made me feel even more scared. Then dad couldn’t figure out for himself why he was letting me go to this school that I might not come back from. But for some reason, he couldn’t resist. Then it dawned on me that mum and dad had been bewitched by those sorcerers. So, I’d better obey, because those scary people might come up with something else. This is why I bid farewell to my parents at the station and stepped into a conventional train, wishing to see them at least once more, instead of arriving home in a wooden box. But, well, whatever now...

I took a seat by the window with a heavy sigh. It would take four hours to get to Geneva, and then somehow reach the Graswangtal School, which was not on the map. Dad checked. He laid out the pills and handed me, whereas mum was crying intensely. Not in front of me, but I saw it. Reflecting on what was ahead of me, I only wished the new school was equipped with a lift. Well, I can't... But anyway, what difference does it make where to die?

The wagon was quite average, divided into compartments of six seats each. A transparent door led to a corridor through which occasionally some boys and even apparently girls were rushing around. I already knew that the Graswangtal School was a boarding school, it was even explained to us for what reason – something related to the maturing of a sorcerer, but I didn’t get anything, except the fact that I was being taken away from my parents without being asked. Sorcerers are malicious, I’ve discovered that very well; not for nothing were they burned at the stake in the Middle Ages. Now they are taking revenge, probably by taking children away from their parents.

Some boy peeked into the compartment, inquiring politely as to where he could find some Wolf, but I couldn’t help him. Determined to stroll to the toilet just in case, even though I didn’t feel like it, I realized too late that it was a blunder. I was suddenly dizzy and gasping for breath beside some compartment, and it all suddenly went out.

I came round with what some boy thought was giving me artificial respiration, albeit his lips were soft. Surprisingly, it was so easy to breathe, and that was rather odd. After a fainting spell, I usually experienced severe distress, but for some reason not that time. I was lying on the floor and the boy was trying to lift me up and get me into a chair. Finally, he succeeded, and I felt like introducing myself:

My name is Helen Bock, I informed him.

Philip Krone, he replied and gave me one of those warm smiles.

This name was the one I knew from books. A little over eleven years ago some kind of natural disaster hit the sorcerers, and the parents of this boy were rescuing children, I didn’t realize from where. They died like real heroes and saved everyone. Philip might have been a hero with such parents, but obviously, I didn’t tell him my story. It was unlikely that he would be taken by it. We were silent, and then we gradually fell into talking.

Don’t get attached to me, I remarked. I might die soon.

Why? Philip wondered.

Because I have a weak heart, and every day could be my last, I briefed the boy, expecting him to turn away and I would go back in spite of my weakness. This was something I’d faced before, when I was frank about myself, and the girls turned away because they weren’t interested in me being like that.

But that was not how Philip acted at all.

Let’s be friends? he offered me, giving a shy smile, and I was even taken aback, as I hadn’t expected such a thing at all.

All right I replied. But on one condition, okay?

What condition? The son of the heroes inquired.

You won’t be weeping when I die, I voiced to him my most important condition.

Deal, he grinned at me.

His smile was so lovely, warm, and sincere... It made the world around peaceful and cordial.

That’s how we became friends. At first, we were talking a lot about the books we had read, but someone kept dropping by the compartment, so Philip just closed the door with some stick and no one else stepped in. It turned out that he lived in a foster home where he was treated kind of badly, so he would sit in the school library for hours which led him to be terribly clever, almost like me, hee-hee.

Then we touched on the things we had found out about school, and Philip suggested insisting on being classmates – it would be easier to be friends that way. I cheerfully agreed. Suddenly there was no longer any fear or loneliness. After all, it was the first time I was going somewhere without my mum and dad, and he seemed to realize what I was going through and didn’t let me get bored for the whole four hours of the journey. The train was going forward, and we were chatting about everything. And when I suddenly got homesick and blinked strenuously to keep the tears away, he hugged me. All of a sudden, he hugged me, hugged me as if I were a little girl. It made me want to cuddle with him, to feel his warmth. Somehow, in spite of everything, I was a little frightened, but I was struggling with the feeling because I couldn’t afford to be afraid.

Let’s go to my compartment, I offered. Then we can have a meal since I forgot, and that’s not good.

Let’s go, Philip smiled.

I don’t know if you’ll like it, but my food is a little bland because I shouldn’t eat much salt, I apologized in advance, and we went to the compartment I had left behind.

I took out the snacks my mother had packed for me, sharing them fairly. The boy did not turn his nose up at them, gladly eating and thanking me for the delicious food. I was really pleased for Mum since she was the one who cooked it. And then we arrived.

We were brought together at the train station in Geneva and taken to the bus. Philip was always nearby. The attendant told us that our