[center][h2][b][color=0072bc]Shuichi[/color][/b][/h2][/center]

One moment he was walking home with his sister. Then, Shuichi blinked and he had no idea where he was. He stood with a dumb expression, staring and the two halves of the letter in his hands. He wasn't frightened or alarmed, just baffled at how his front lawn suddenly disappeared and he was now staring at some strange castle place. It seemed the letter was a pretty elaborate prank, as it had actually teleported him like it said it would. No big deal, though. He'd just take out his cell, call for a cab, and... [color=0072bc]"Crap."[/color] Zero bars. That wasn't good. Well, at least he wasn't alone. Shuichi looked around and saw that everyone else looked just as confused as he was. Some folks hadn't even managed to stay on their feet. But then he was treated to quite a spectacle. 

With a mighty "welcome," their host shot a brilliant display of light into the air. Shuichi's eyes followed the light and lingered on the sky well after it dissipated lest he miss some crazy after effect. There was no question about it. That was real magic, and quite a large display of it. If a man could do that at a time when magic was withering away, then maybe this was real. Maybe the letter wasn't a prank after all. Sure, it was a bit of a jump in logic going from "this guy can do magic" to "you are a chosen one destined to fight the magic-devouring monster," but Shuichi has believed crazier things. [color=0072bc]"Darn, and here I thought it was satellites..."[/color]

The next thing Shuichi heard was a girl about his age calling out to the group. She seemed to feel at home, already calling dibs on rooms and gathering twigs and whatnot. [i][color=0072bc]Wait, gathering ingredients and needing a special room. Whoa, is she a witch?[/color][/i] Well, if she was going to call out to the group and introduce herself, Shuichi saw no reason not to follow her example. He cupped his hands and called out as well. [color=0072bc]"Hi Rinh! My name's Shuichi. Does anyone have cell reception? I wanna tell my parents that I'm not being held for ransom."[/color] Then he looked at Elizabeth. [color=0072bc]"We're not being held for ransom, right? Because my parents won't negotiate with terrorists."[/color]