Excerpts from The Mortal Realm Witch Series

Mortal Realm Witch: Learning About Magic Wolf Magic

DWW started sniffing the ground searching for a strong scent of rabbit. Witch and Warlock copied her. As soon as DWW found fresh rabbit scent, she gave the pups a low warning growl.
Witch knew that this meant that they would have to start paying extra careful attention to how they moved and how much noise they made.

But Warlock, even though he had heard DWW and knew what the growl meant, was so involved in tracking the rabbit that he stepped on a twig. The crackling of the twig scared him and he jumped backwards right into Witch.

Witch growled at him and the two pups started play fighting with each other. DWW growled at them and immediately they stopped fighting and looked at her guiltily.

After this they resumed the hunt. Warlock was now paying attention to the rabbit scent as well as where he was putting his paws. It wasn't long before a rabbit was in sight of the three wolves. As soon as Witch spotted it she yipped excitedly scaring the rabbit. The rabbit took off and jumped into its nearest burrow.

DWW chased after it with the pups following closely behind her. She knew that the rabbit wouldn't come back out for a while so she decided to use this time to teach the pups some patience.
The wind was also beginning to blow a little at this time so she also decided to teach them how paying attention to the wind can help them to hunt successfully.

DWW positioned the pups near the burrow, but not too close to it. She also made sure that the wind was blowing the scent of the wolves away from it.

There was tall grass surrounding the burrow which DWW and the pups used to hide themselves from view. Now all they had to do was wait for the rabbit to come back out.

After what felt like hours, a rabbit began to appear. It started to come out of the burrow, but then it stopped and sniffed the air before coming out.

Next it began to hop slowly away from the burrow, stopping to sniff the air every once in a while. Finally it began to feel safe and relaxed. It hopped towards a very green patch of grass.

DWW gave the pups a low, firm bark to tell the pups to stay and watch her as she slowly crept towards the rabbit. As she did this, she moved around, using trees and tall grass for cover. She wanted to move around to the front of the rabbit knowing that directly in front of the rabbit was its blind spot.

All rabbits see around them better than directly in front, so DWW knew that she was less likely to be spotted by approaching from directly in front of it.

DWW crouched as low as she could get in some tall grass and froze. The rabbit was still relaxed and too busy eating to notice her.
She waited for the right moment, and then rushed it head on. At the last second, the rabbit noticed her and tried to run away, but it was too late; DWW had caught it.

After DWW returned to the pups, she told them that next time a rabbit came out of the burrow it would be theirs to catch. But this time they would use a different strategy. DWW explained what they would do. Then she and the pups returned their attention to the burrow.

When the next rabbit emerged, Witch and Warlock were ready. They watched until the rabbit made its way to the same patch of grass as the previous one before acting.

Warlock moved to just in front of the burrow and crouched as low as he could get. Meanwhile, Witch crept around to the front of the rabbit in the same area as DWW had been.

As soon as she was in position, instead of waiting, she rushed directly at it. Almost immediately the rabbit saw her and took off towards its burrow with Witch almost on its tail.

The rabbit was so scared that it didn't see Warlock waiting for it. When it was close enough, Warlock ran towards it.

The rabbit was now in between both pups. The rabbit quickly turned around, but not before Warlock managed to grab onto the back end of the rabbit. Witch used this moment to kill it.

The wolf pups ran back to DWW and she praised them on their catch.

DWW explained that all animals had to hunt to survive, and that it was part of the laws of nature.

After the hunt, the wolves ate the rabbits where they were before returning home.

The next night DWW decided to show them how to hunt bigger animals as a pack, although they weren't a big enough pack to actually catch anything in the usual way.

DWW found a small doe, and with the pups watching, she created five duplicates of herself so that it would look as if a whole pack of wolves were surrounding the deer.

After doing this she explained to Witch and Warlock that wolf packs would usually work as a team to hunt deer and other large animals. Before demonstrating how they could use duplicates to hunt, she tells them that the duplicates have no attack power.

This is because they are more like ghosts than anything else. They are used to scare only because the animal being hunted can run right through them, and each duplicate could only be controlled one at a time.

She also warned them that until they are more experienced hunters they can't try this method on deer or any other large animal.
DWW then began to move towards the deer. She did her best to creep up on it. As soon as the deer was almost in her reach, it noticed her and started running.

DWW observed what direction it was moving in and chased after it while moving the duplicate that was in the direction the deer was heading forwards. The deer saw this and turned left.

DWW then moved another duplicate to rush it from the front. The deer then ran to the right.

DWW did the same thing again. The deer now was unsure of where to go and turned around to face her, ready to fight.

Mortal Realm Witch: Learning About Magic DWW on the Witches Council

One Monday I went to school. Well, actually every Monday I go to school, but this one was different. Not that every Monday goes exactly the same, but this Monday there was a new kid in school.
He was short, average in weight, had blue-green eyes, and jet black hair. There was also something odd about him. I couldn't figure out what it was.

There was only one time a day that I saw him and that was lunch, so Sam and I took that time to get to know him.
During this time, we found out as much as we could, but there were some things he wouldn't tell us. The things he wouldn't tell us were where he came from and where he lived now.

I thought this was sort of strange, but I liked him. I still couldn't help but wonder why I got this odd feeling when I saw him.

The next day I had every class with him. It was like he somehow found out what my schedule was and changed his to match mine.
That day at lunch I asked him, "How did you get your schedule to match mine?"

"I have my ways," he replied mysteriously.

"How did you find out what my schedule was?" I asked.

"I just did," he said.

This was very strange. I couldn't get him to give me any more information. When I thought over what he had said and how he had said it, I got an idea.

I came up with the idea that he might be a warlock. The facts added up.

First, he won't tell me where he is from, then he won't tell me where he lives, next his schedule magically happens to match mine, and finally he won't tell me how he found out my schedule or how he got his to match mine.

I decided to try the Other Realm for some information.
In the Other Realm, I saw Trom and asked him about the boy.
Trom told me to check with the Other Realm information service. He said all I had to do was call them, which I could even do from the Mortal Realm.

I did this and found out that the boy, whose name is Sampson, was definitely a warlock. I then called Sam and told her to come over to my house.

When Sam got to my house, she asked, "Why did you call me?"

"I know a lot more about Sampson," I said.

"How?" she asked.

"You know how he was keeping information from us?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I just called the Other Realm and..." I started to explain.

"You can call the Other Realm?"

"Yes. Anyway, Sampson is a warlock."

"That explains a lot," Sam said.

"Yeah, I know."

"So, when should we tell him we know?"

"Tomorrow, but I will have to be the one to tell him."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"I am a witch," I reminded her.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense."

The next day I told Sampson that Sam and I knew that he was a warlock. When he asked how we found out, I told him that I was a witch.

Afterward he told us that he used to live in the Other Realm, but now he sort of lives between Realms. Sam was a little confused when Sampson said this, but I understood what he meant.
Sampson also told us that he was working towards being on the Witches Council. I thought that was great until later when I found out why.

Mortal Realm Witch: The Magic Continues Magic Mayhem (Testing Trillman)

You may know about the first spell I ever tried to do with Trillman. It was the spell where I had to turn Trillman into a puppy. At first the spell worked fine, but later I got a magic blockage which caused all my spells to reverse and Trillman became a guppy instead of a puppy.

At that time, I had used many different spells on Trillman and all of them turned out wrong. I remember a spell that I used on him shortly after the magic blockage was removed. This spell became Trillman's ultimate test of patience with me. Here is what happened.

It was Saturday morning. I think it was around ten o' clock or something. I had seen a spell in a magic book in the Other Realm that I wanted to use. The spell would turn Trillman into a small brown mouse. When I looked at the spell, I guess I didn't read the whole thing.

I tried the spell on Trillman as soon as he came to me for magic practice. I must have gotten the spell wrong because when I next looked at Trillman I was staring at a large brown moose.
I tried to reverse the spell like I had when he had been a puppy, but that didn't work. Then I tried to reverse it the way that I had done when he had accidentally become a guppy. That didn't work either.

Trillman made me go back to the Other Realm to look at the spell again to see if it said how to reverse it. He came with me to be sure I did what it said.

I read through the spell again and noticed something I obviously hadn't noticed before. At the bottom of the page was a notice. It said:

Spell can't be reversed using another spell and it does not wear off after any amount of time.

Trillman also saw this notice.

I was confused. If you can't use a spell to reverse it, and it doesn't have a time limit, what else is there to do? You can bet that Trillman was mad at me for this.

One month later, I still hadn't been able to figure out how to turn Trillman back to normal.

A while later I decided that Trillman needed a bath, so I took my moose familiar and led him outside. First I hosed him down and then I used dog shampoo on him. After I rinsed the dog shampoo off I went to turn off the hose.

I was starting to wonder what I would do if Trillman was a moose forever.

I turned back around to face Trillman and was amazed by what I saw. Trillman was a dog again!

It washes off!" I said excitedly.

"Apparently so," Trillman said.

"Go figure," I replied.

In the end it turned out all right, but I don't think that Trillman ever completely forgave me for that mishap.

Mortal Realm Witch: The Magic Continues Witch Hunters

At my house, once we found Max, we asked him about the witch hunters.

"First don't use any magic in the same room as them if you are indoors, and if you are outdoors don't use magic within their sight or within ten feet of them," Max said.

"Oops," I replied, realizing that Taron and I had been in a corner where they couldn't see or hear us, but we had still been in the same room as them.

"You used magic around them, didn't you Turtle?" Max asked me.
"Yes," I confessed.

"Then they will already be following you and Taron," Max said.
"Why Taron?" I asked.

"Because witch hunters are also known as magic hunters. They hunt anyone with magic, not just witches," Max explained.
"I think that we should go to the Other Realm and tell DWW about them," I suggested.

"That's probably a good idea," Max agreed.

I had just started to zap the three of us into the Other Realm when Max said, "Turtle, you can't bring Taron with us!"

"Max, there are three witch hunters nearby. I am not going to leave him behind!" I said.

"Fine, but don't blame me when you get turned into a familiar for several hundred years!" he exclaimed with a wag of his tail.

"I won't," I agreed smiling back at him.

I looked around and realized that we weren't in the Mortal Realm anymore, but we weren't in the Other Realm either.

I could clearly see both Realms and looking past the Other Realm I could see dragons, unicorns, vampires, centaurs, minotaur's, and many other creatures.

I could also see areas that looked like they were completely underwater and other places that looked as if they had almost no water at all. There was also a place with nothing but swamp-like land and lots of trees.

In that place I could also see many creatures that blended into trees like a small cat with chipmunk like markings.

"Max, where are we?" I asked.

"I don't know. It looks like some kind of..."

"...Map World," Taron cut in.

"Yeah, a Map World," Max said.

"It does resemble a holographic map," I said. "We should probably let DWW know about this place as well as the witch hunters."

"We can do that, but first let's explore!" Taron urged.

Mortal Realm Witch: Realms Unite?

DWW had a dream. One day she was going to try to unite the Mortal Realm with the Other Realm. Doing so had been a dream of hers ever since she was just a young witch still learning how to use magic.

Though she now lived in the Other Realm, where most witches, warlocks and their familiars live, DWW had grown up in the Mortal Realm with mortals. Having a strong connection to both Realms, she believed that somehow she could be the bridge between the Realms that would bring them together and help both sides live together peacefully.

Being the Head of the Witches Council, DWW felt she now had the perfect opportunity to unite the Realms and had wanted to get started on this for months now, but she had been too busy to do so.

DWW had many duties as the Head of the Witches Council. From making rules to punishing those who break them, to creating unique tests designed for familiars to prove they are ready to become witches and warlocks again when their punishments are over.

Ever since the former Head of the Witches Council left her in charge, DWW had been busiest with the familiars.

DWW loved coming up with new tests and giving them to the eagerly awaiting animals who were ready to prove themselves and become human again. It was especially exciting when they passed and she could confidently send them away equipped once again with their magical abilities.

Even so, DWW was especially eager to get to her next familiar…the last one before she could begin working on her plan to unite the Realms.
***
She was using her screen to watch a few mortals that she was considering allowing into the Other Realm when a voice behind her said, “It will never work.”

“What won’t work?” she asked still watching the screen.

“Letting mortals into the Other Realm,” the voice replied.

“Why not, I’m being careful which mortals I let into this Realm,” DWW said.

“It doesn’t matter how careful you are, eventually the wrong type of mortals will get in and destroy our Realm,” the voice said.
“No they won’t. I’m not going to let any mortals in that I don’t think are responsible enough,” DWW replied.

“And how can you be sure of this?” the voice asked.

“I’ve been personally inviting mortals in and the Security Council is keeping track of them. Plus only the mortals I have approved have the ability to transport themselves, and only themselves, between realms,” DWW explained.

“You’ve thought this plan through pretty well,” the voice replied sounding impressed. “You know I always thought the only way the Realms would ever get together was by force. That was always my plan; to unite both Realms by ruling over them,” said the familiar sounding voice.

DWW suddenly realized who the voice belonged to and turned around.

“Sampson? Your plan was to unite the Realms?” DWW asked surprised.

Mortal Realm Witch: Realms Unite?

Upon arriving in the Other Realm, the first thing they saw was the familiar. It was a small, light brown dog with black on the back of its ears and the insides were light pink.

The dog had one white paw and white fur taking up most of its front making the little dog look as if it was wearing a bib. It had white from its muzzle to almost the top of its head.

The head itself looked a little large compared to the dog's body, and the ears were large and wide. The little dog was looking at them with round, shiny eyes.

"This is your first familiar to deliver," DWW said, "It's called a Mystical Chi with Chi being short for Chihuahua."

"He's really cute," Taron remarked picking up the little dog.

"Mystical Chi's always are, or at least almost everyone believes so. That's how the breed got its name," DWW said.

"What do you mean?" Taron asked as the dog looked up at him.

"Mystical Chi's have special powers that allow it to instantly befriend anyone or anything just by looking them in the eyes. It's almost impossible to resist their looks which are why they are popular house pets," DWW explained.

"The Mystical Chi is a little demanding at times and may get in trouble if they aren't given enough attention. Other than that they are good dogs," DWW continued. "I don't think that you will have to do much to convince his new family to adopt him."

"He already has me convinced," Taron said smiling as the Mystical Chi licked his face.

"So are you ready to deliver him?" DWW asked.

"Not exactly," Taron replied.

"Why not?" DWW asked. Then she noticed that Taron had been looking into the little dog's eyes.

Max noticed this as well and dutifully said, "Don't worry; I'll make sure the dog gets delivered."

Mortal Realm Witch: Realms Unite?

"Brad you are going to be sent into the past to the home of Nick and Alex," DWW explained.

"Who are they?" Brad asked.

"Nick and Alex are animal psychics who have spent their lives helping people to understand all animals but especially the misunderstood ones," DWW said.

"How does that help us?" Brad asked.

"The psychics have a high success rate and are the perfect mortals to promote witches," DWW explained.

"How are they going to do this?" Brad asked.

"With the help of a familiar and a warlock called Brad," DWW said.

"You're sending me with a warlock and a familiar who are both called Brad?" Brad asked confused. "I thought I was going alone."

"You are. I am sending you by yourself," DWW replied. Then she explained, "I am going to return your powers for this mission."

"Why do I need my powers?" Brad asked.

"Because you will be living with the psychics for a while and there will be times when you will need to use them," DWW said.

"How long will I be living with them?" Brad asked.

"I am sending you back to when the psychics were seventeen and they are currently thirty, so thirteen years," DWW replied.

"Isn't thirteen a bad number," Brad asked worriedly.

"Many Mortals believe it is, but for witches it is actually a very good number," DWW said.

"It's got to be a good number," Star said. Until that moment, DWW and Brad hadn't know that Star was in the room with them.

"Why's that?" DWW asked the dog.

"I was thirteen when I finished familiar training and since then my life has never been better," Star replied.

"Star, I'm not sure that really has anything to do with the number thirteen," DWW said.

Star thought about replying but then he got distracted by a ladybug that flew in front of his nose.

"So, will I be living with the psychics as a familiar or as a warlock?" Brad asked.

"Both," DWW replied.

"How can I be both?" Brad asked.

"You will only be able to use your powers when you are in two forms: a black panther, and a black cat. You will be able to become human whenever you want, but must return to one of those two forms in order to use any magic," DWW explained.

"Is there anything else that I should know?" Brad asked.

"Not unless you think of something else that you want to know," DWW said. "Is there?"

"Is there what?" Brad asked distractedly.

Noticing that Brad was watching Star hungrily, DWW said, "Brad make sure that you go hunting before going to the psychics house, but do so in the woods nearby instead of here. Star is not food and Nick and Alex have four small pets."

Star suddenly noticed the way that Brad was looking at him and moved as close to DWW as he could get.

"I wasn't going to eat Star," Brad said indignantly. "I only hunt natural Black Panther prey, or as close as I can get to it."

"That's not what it looked like to me," Star said.

"Whether or not you think you would eat pets, you have the instincts of a Black Panther so you should still go hunting first," DWW cautioned him.

"Okay, I will," Brad promised.

"Well then good luck and I will see you in a few hours or in thirteen years depending on how you see it," DWW said, sending Brad into the past.

Tales of Familiars The Cross Country Frog Race

At first no frogs moved; they didn't understand what they were being expected to do.

Since I knew exactly what to do, I started moving. But just as I got to the first jump, the other frogs suddenly got the idea and started to catch up to me.

I tried my hardest to stay ahead of them, but in the end all of the other frogs passed me, and I ended up losing the race.

After the race was over, Billy's friends took their frogs out of the box. When Billy took me out of the box, I could tell that he was mad.
That night Billy yelled at me for losing the race.

"You should have won!" Billy said.

"How could you expect that!" I said.

"Because you aren't really a frog so you are smarter than my friends' frogs!"

"Being smarter than them has nothing to do with racing; racing about speed!"

"You still should have won," Billy exclaimed.

"Well, sorry if I haven't gotten used to being a frog yet!" I said defensively.

"How hard can it be?" Billy asked.

"It's hard to get used to being something that you have never been before," I explained.

"Maybe for the first few hours, but by now you should be used to it," Billy argued.

"I've only been a frog for one week. Your friends' frogs have been frogs their whole lives!" I said defensively.

"Yeah, well I bet that I could get used to being a frog in one hour and beat you in a race!" Billy bragged.

"Fine, then tomorrow we will race. You can even set up the race course any way that you want. We will have a cross country frog race," I challenged him.

"Okay!" Billy agreed.