Chapter 1

This is the first chapter of Spellward Bound. It is named The Chaptening.

Plot
In a faraway land, a large magenta beam of pure energy rises from the ground. It is seen everywhere, from a forest to a desert, where a group of travelers seems to notice the beam.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Matteo is attending class when the dismissal bell rang. As Matteo turns to leave the classroom, the teacher, Mr. Caff, calls out to him to have a little talk. Suddenly, Tyson, Matteo's schoolmate and best friend, barges in the classroom to talk to him about doing prank videos, having done with movie reviews. A dismayed Mr. Caff starts discussing Matteo's career sheet, which doesn't have anything written on it, which Matteo replies that he was unsure about what career he should study. Mr. Caff explains to him that there are many good jobs that Matteo could choose (i.e. health, law, and computer engineering) and rhetorically asks him to pick any of them if he doesn't have anything else in his mind. Tyson suggests working as a teacher, but Mr. Caff shoots it down as it is a terrible idea. Matteo then asks if the career he picks is a terrible idea; Mr. Caff replies that it couldn't be worse than the other problem: Tyson's writing of 'internet celebrity' on the entire paper. Tyson responds cockily, saying that he has what it takes, much to Matteo's annoyance. Mr. Caff points out that the project is about thinking about the future and that there is no harm in picking any job. He adds that the project is due in a month and assures Matteo to think about the career he wants to pick, to which the latter agrees. Tyson then finds a bottle of Mt. Crush soda and Matteo notices the bottle glowing. He then takes the bottle and makes his way home.

At his house, Matteo asks his father about his future career and his dad answered that he can pick any future career to his liking, adding that things never turn out as expected. He assures his son that he can do it but it won't be the golden moment Matteo has built up for himself. After agreeing to his father's words, he headed to his bedroom to lie down on his bed. Staring at the ceiling, Matteo contemplates about his dream career of being an astronaut and remembers the times his hopes of attaining his career were put down, from watching the news about NASA funding being cut due to cutbacks to people saying that he should grow up and forget about being an astronaut. Matteo then covers his face with his hands out of exasperation but the next thing he knew, he is in a sandy desert lit by two 'moons' (one of them having a chunk removed), much to his surprise. As he observes his surroundings, he is approached by an elf riding a camel-like mount. The surprised mount rears over, scaring Matteo into running away. As he runs away from them, Matteo trips and is sent back to his bedroom. He wonders what happened to him and realizes that holding a fistful of sand.