Hey everybody! Sorry for the long wait, I was on vacation and I didn't have internet for nine days. Thank you so much for FIVE reviews on the last chapter! That's amazing, I've never gotten that many! You guys are awesome. I think I'm going to start responding to reviews at the bottom of each chapter, too.

Also the runes that the sorcerers make are called Mandalas. There actually isn't much on them in terms of the Doctor Strange universe, so some of the powers come from my own head (I also made up a couple dimensions). But the stuff about Hamir and Wong is canon in the comics!

Thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and review!

Chapter Six: The First Mandala

The next day, Strange stopped me on the way to breakfast.

"I want you to start joining in on some of the group lessons," he said. "Master Hamir has been here for many years, so he will be able to teach you things I might not be able to."

"Sure," I nodded. Maybe Hamir's training could help me.

"Master Hamir is going to lead a class on Mandalas in about half an hour in the courtyard."

"Thank you." I said.

Strange clapped me once on the shoulder then strode away, his red cloak billowing out behind him almost as if it was waving good-bye. Learning what I had about animated objects, I wouldn't doubt that his cloak had a mind of its own.

I made my way to the kitchen, debating whether or not I should eat breakfast. I wasn't very hungry, though I knew Aidan would get on my case if he knew I hadn't eaten anything.

Who cares, I thought. I decided to go straight to the courtyard. As I walked, I found my fingers fiddling with the soft collar of by robes nervously. I had never done real magic in front of others, what if I made a complete fool out of myself?

I shouldn't worry. Worrying was what held me back, and right now I didn't need to be held back any more than I already was.

Aidan met me by the doors, dressed in his usual green robes.

"Hey," he greeted me. "Finally joining us?"

"Yep," I said, trying to disguise the nausea I felt rising in my stomach.

"Great! Master Hamir is one of the greatest sorcerers in the world, you'll see when the class starts." Aidan straightened up, stretching with a slow sigh. "I know when I was just starting out, he was able to teach me how to access the true power within me."

"Maybe he can do the same with me," I murmured, hope battling its way through the sickness I felt at Aidan's words.

The door behind us slid open, revealing a stern man dressed in blue robes. His arms were folding in front of him, his hands tucked in his sleeves. His salt and pepper hair was tied back, and his dark eyes were stern, but also soft at the same time.

"Master Hamir," Aidan said, bowing. I looked between the two, startled, before dropping into an awkward bow.

He dipped his head to both of us, walking down the steps to the courtyard. I let out a slow breath.

"He's sort of intimidating," I said.

Aidan shrugged, bounding down the steps one at a time. "Once you get to know him, he's really nice. He helped raise me."

"Raise you?" The words burst out of me before I could stop them.

Aidan paused at the bottom of the staircase. "Oh, I forgot you didn't know. I was brought here when I was very young. Master Hamir took care of me and taught me everything I know, besides what the Ancient One filled in."

"Oh." I didn't know what to say. I struggled to push down more prying questions. I wanted to know more about him, but at the same time I knew what it felt like to be asked questions that you didn't want to answer.

"He's also Wong's father," Aidan said.

"Wong's father?" I said in disbelief, following Aidan to where the other sorcerers were gathering behind Hamir.

"Yeah, they're pretty different people," Aidan said with a small laugh.

When we reached the group, everyone began to form straight lines. I was pushed in beside Aidan, in unfortunately, the front row.

Hamir faced us, putting his arms out. To my surprise, he only had one hand. He started to create a Mandala of Light, creating a rune that looked complicated, filled with spinning circles and squares made of glowing orange edges.

"If you all will remember, the Mandala is the keystone to the mystic arts," Hamir began, his voice soft but commanding. "We can create runes of power in mid air that can give us access to power beyond belief. We can create weapons," He held his arms out, two fan-like half circle Mandalas forming. He dropped his arms, the Mandalas disappearing. "Or even runes that give ourselves special powers."

He started to create a Mandala of three squares, one within the other, with smaller circles between corners. When he pushed out on the rune, a burst of flame suddenly burst forth, surrounding him and spiraling into the air where it became just a few curling wisps of smoke. I stood in awe, glancing around to look at the other initiates to see if they were all as amazed as I was. Unlike me, they watched Hamir with narrowed, studying eyes. I suppose if you lived in a house of the mystic arts, you got used to seeing impossible things.

"Now follow my directions," he said.

"Wait, he won't show us the basics?" I hissed to Aidan. He didn't answer, just shooting me a side-eyed glance before turning back to Hamir. I frowned, trying to keep my wildly-beating heart under control. It was looking like it would be sink or swim for me.

Hamir suddenly yelled out a word in another language. I panicked a bit, not knowing what he was saying. I glanced around at the other initiates, trying to copy what they did. Hamir continued calling out words. A few, thankfully, I could recognize from lessons with Strange.

I mirrored Aidan beside me when Hamir called an unknown word, my hands held out in front of me. Hamir called out again, our hands turning in a clockwise motion. I constantly watched the others, worried I would make a wrong move. Another master strode between our ranks, watching our form and correcting people when needed.

At Hamir's direction, we brought our hands together in front of us, then drew them apart. A thin orange line connected the space between Aidan's palms, but only a few sparks appeared in front of me. I blinked rapidly, trying to ignore the looks a few of the other sorcerers shot at me. Our hands turned, a circle forming around the line. I stared in front of me, my vision starting to blur. I couldn't do this, this was humiliating.

"Let go."

I jumped, not noticing that Hamir had stopped beside me. "Let yourself relax, feel the power you hold within yourself."

I nodded, looking back at my hands. Hamir murmured the words to me as the other trainees continued with the other master taking over. I growled in frustration when again, nothing happened. The air remained empty before me.

"You must let yourself go," he said. "You need to realize why you came here."

"I didn't choose to come here," I whispered.

"Didn't you?" Hamir said, going to stand directly in front of me. "Why are you here?"

I shook my head, frustration tightening my muscles. "I don't know!" Hamir was asking me the same questions Strange had, and like before, I was only growing angry.

Then I paused. Why was I so angry? What did I not want to admit? I refused to take that last step to discover why I was really here.

I dropped my hands, glancing down at the ground, shame heating my cheeks up. "I can't do it, I'm sorry."

"No, do not be sorry. It will come in time," Hamir said. I nodded, watching the master pace in front of the other sorcerers. Aidan was casting me a few confused looks, but I ignored him. There was a battle going on inside my head, making my forehead pound. I suddenly lurched forward, running past the other observing master. Realization burned through me, giving me a new clarity that I never had before.

"Where are you going?" the master shouted. But Hamir put his hand on the master's shoulder, shaking his head. I mentally noted to give Hamir my thanks later.

I knew where I was going. I was running right toward Strange's private training room. The room where I had spent the last few days agonizing over my inability to do anything. I was stubborn, I always knew I was. But today was the day when I realize just how stubborn I actually was when I finally admitted to myself what I always knew.

I burst through the doors, hoping that Strange didn't have a pupil at the moment. With my chest heaving and relief coursing through me, I saw Strange meditating in the center of the room. His eyes snapped open at the sound of the door slamming against the wall. I winced at the sharp noise, slowing my steps to walk toward Strange.

"I know why I am here," I said through heaving breaths. Strange rose to his feet, his expression unreadable. Although I thought I spotted a but of hope flickering behind his blue eyes.

"I came to be healed." The words rushed out of me, trembling slightly. I felt my body immediately collapse at the confession, my muscles relaxing and my eyes stinging with tears. Whether they were tears of shame or tears of joy, I didn't know. But I felt a wall come down from around me.

"I was so hurt the day I came here," I said, forcing myself to continue. After a while, the words all tumbled out by themselves. "I unconsciously brought myself here. I want to be healed."

Strange just stood in silence. I didn't know what to say, my eyes desperately searching his face. I began to feel remorse creeping through me, freezing my body. Maybe I had said the wrong thing.

"Please," I breathed.

Strange dipped his head. "I was waiting for you to say that."

I frowned, taken aback. "You were?"

"Of course." Strange said. "I knew why you were here, but I wanted you to figure it all out on your own. And I also knew that Hamir was the one who would be able to make you realize it."

All I could do was stand in one spot, taking in Strange's sentences one syllable at a time.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg, but I think you're on your way," Strange said, a small smile pulling at the edges of his lips.

"Thank you," I said. I, too, knew the wall that had crumbled within me today was only one of an entire fortress I had built, but it was a start.

"Why don't you try Hamir's movements right now?" Strange said, taking a couple steps back to give me room.

I nodded, taking a deep breath before holding my hands out. I remembered Hamir's fluid movements, how he had created the glowing lines so naturally. With the picture of the master in my mind, I copied his movements. My mouth dropped open when I spread my hands apart, a thin, wavering line appeared between my palms. With another movement, I had a full circle hovering before me. Though it looked more like a wobbly oval, I had created my first stable Mandala.

I watched it disappear with a crackling noise. I just stood in shock, my eyes wide.

"Congratulations," Strange grinned.

"It was more like an oval than any circle," I said sheepishly, clasping my hands behind my back.

"It was still a massive improvement," he said. "I think Aidan has finished, and is waiting for you in the courtyard."

"Will we still have our private lesson?" I asked.

"I think you've done enough work for today," Strange said, bowing slightly. I returned the gesture, trying, unsuccessfully, to stop myself from running out of the room. I tripped over my feet just before the door, falling into the handle with a dull bang. I hurriedly pulled the door open before Strange could make any comment on my clumsiness.

Out in the courtyard, I saw Aidan standing next to Master Hamir. I ran up to him, breathless.

"I just created my first Mandala!" I said, unable to hold it in.

"That's awesome!" Aidan gave me a solid high five, grinning.

Hamir turned to me. Though his face was blank, I thought I saw a small smile curving up the corners of his mouth. "A huge accomplishment, congratulations. You're welcome back in my class any time, no matter what happened today."

"Thank you, Master Hamir." I shared a bow with him, finding a new fondness for the quiet, steady master. Though, I did still feel rather sorry about the way I had just rushed out of his class without any warning.

As Master Hamir left, Aidan tilted his head toward the library. "We should start studying."

I sighed. "Does anyone ever take a break here?"

"You should know by now," Aidan said, grinning, "that Kamar-Taj never stops moving, and neither do we."

I followed him down the halls to the library. Wong was sitting in his spot at the table in the center of the library, his head bent over a dusty tome. His eyes flicked over to us momentarily, watching us as we went behind a bookcase.

"I think we'll start with dimensions," Aidan mused, reading the books' spines. "Since you have a sling ring and a rudimentary understanding of Mandalas, you'll need to learn about the different dimensions soon enough."

"Different dimensions?" I asked, trying to understand what he meant.

Aidan pulled a dark blue book out of the case, blowing on the cover. A cloud of dust rose in the air, swirling in the light of a blazing torch. "Yeah, our universe is just one of many. There are countless other dimensions stacked on one another, some friendly, some evil."

"I mean, I've heard of the other dimensions theory in astronomy at school, but they're real?" My voice was filled with incredulity. Aidan slid into a creaky wooden chair at an empty table. He pushed aside an abandoned stack of books with his elbow to make room for us. I sat across him, folding my arms and frowning.

"It's impossible that they exist," I said, scoffing slightly.

"Sure it's not," Aidan said. "Master Strange must've showed you your astral form, right?"

I nodded, remembering the weird out-of-body experience.

"That is technically another dimension."

"But I saw my body and everything else," I protested.

"It is a dimension that lies right next to ours with walls so thin you can see right through them, though you do experience a slower passage of time."

"This is insane," I said. "You're all crazy."

"You just now come to this conclusion? After you created a magical rune in midair and experienced another realm for yourself?" Aidan opened the book, the spine cracking. The pages were a dull yellow color. Thin black lines of fancy script were written across each page.

"Well, I figured I wouldn't think about it too much," I said. "It's easier that way."

"Sure."

I raised my eyebrows at Aidan's lofty tone. He didn't say anything else, instead turning the book so I could see the script. It was an older version of English, with spellings like an unedited Shakespeare work would have. A picture of a room was nestled between a couple paragraphs, but instead of looking like a normal flat bedroom, the furniture was all bent at awkward angles, almost like a broken reflection.

"That is the mirror dimension pictured here. It is relatively easy for sorcerers to manipulate and change. It is a reflection of our world, but any damage we cause in there doesn't carry over here."

"That's helpful," I said.

"It can be. I'm sure Strange will take you there at some point to train," Aidan said. He reached forward, turning another page.

"I don't know how much you know about the history of Mandalas, but they're often used in many different religions." Aidan's finger traced over the shimmering drawing of a complicated Mandala in the corner of a page. "Like Master Hamir said, the different shapes can give a sorcerer special powers or the ability to travel great distances, like when we use a sling ring. We can also use some Mandalas to access other realms. This Mandala opens a realm made completely of water."

Aidan turned another page. "This one brings you to one that looks like a massive, never ending cave covered with glowing crystals."

"How do you memorize all this? They all look the same," I said honestly.

"Years of practice, and trial and error. You wouldn't believe how many times I meant to go to the mirror dimension when I actually ended up in a never-ending ocean," Aidan said, laughing a bit.

"Do you always need Mandalas?" I asked.

"No, the more experienced sorcerers can move dimensions with just a little directed thought."

"Why would you want to go to any of these?"

"Some we use for training, like the mirror dimension. Others, we mainly leave alone. Some, like the dark dimension, house dark beings that come into our world way more often than we go to theirs."

Aidan reached forward, tapping the golden sling ring on my hand. "Never lose this. I did once in the mirror realm, and lemme tell you; it's an experience you never want to have."

He turned back to the book, tracing a line of text with his finger. "This here explains how you can use some runes and incantations to draw power from other realms. It's a very high level magic that no one uses. Well, unless you have a death wish."

"Why?"

"Other dimensions can corrupt you. Just a little bit ago, an old master left and stole the Book of Cagliostro and summoned Dormammu from the dark dimension. The world was almost destroyed." Aidan stuck his thumb over his shoulder, pointing to a shelf of books held fast with chains. I narrowed my eyes.

"You mean the book that called to me holds the key to obtaining power from the dark dimension?" I murmured, uttering my thoughts without thinking.

"Wait, what?"

"It's nothing," I covered quickly, shaking my head. "Just thinking."

Aidan nodded slowly, but I could tell he wasn't buying what I was selling.

"This is all amazing," I said, pulling the book closer to me to distract from the awkward moment. I pulled a leg under me so I could lift myself over the book. "It's all so complicated. It's crazy I've lived all my life without knowing that I was right next to a whole new dimension."

"It's awesome, right?"

"Very," I said. I sat back, thinking for a moment. I waved a hand toward the book before me. "This is all cool and stuff, but am I ever going to learn about regular school things like math and science?"

Aidan shrugged. "I never did. I mean, I learned the basics when I went to school before my parents died, but my life was dedicated toward the mystic arts when I came here. I know most of the older initiates finished school, but some of us younger ones prefer to immerse ourselves fully in the craft. If you're rarely going to live in the real world, what's the point?"

"I'd like to finish high school just in case," I said, remembering the homework I was doing just a week ago for Mrs. Alvarez's biology class. I swallowed thickly. I never thought I would miss the stern teacher and the rowdy hallways of my public high school. Though, I certainly didn't miss the bullies.

"I don't know the native language here all that well besides a few words for training, so I doubt I'd survive in school," I laughed softly.

"Oh, I know Nepali I can teach you," Aidan said nonchalantly.

I stared at him for a moment, surprised. "Yeah, that'd be awesome."

"I can teach you if you'd like."

I spun around in my chair at the sound of Strange's voice behind me. He was standing with a couple gigantic books in his arms.

"How?" I asked.

"I was a neurosurgeon, I do know quite a bit about math and science. Wong could probably help with literature and Hamir knows a lot about history. If you want, we could homeschool you in a way."

"That'd be awesome," I said. "If it's no trouble."

"It's none at all. Though fair warning, tackling both normal school and learning about magic at the same time will be time consuming," Strange said.

I glanced back at Aidan, then met Strange's eyes. I shrugged. "I've got nothing but time."

I finally wrote an outline for this story, so the pacing hopefully won't be as broken and I'll be able to update faster with all the chapters planned out (it's also summer so I have nothing to do). I also know that Master Hamir never spoke in the movie, but I always kind of liked him as a character so I'm gonna have him play a more active role in this fic. Get ready for some Maddy and Strange moments next chapter :)

Wraith42Phoenix: Thanks for telling me about chapter four not uploading all the way! I've finally fixed it. That line is something I've definitely used too lol

Alex: Thanks for the suggestion! I am definitely gonna slow down the training, I don't want Maddy to be a Mary-Sue who is extremely powerful and suddenly learns everything in one day lol

KarToon12: Thank you so much for the long review! I literally screamed when I saw it lol. I guess you'll have to see about Aidan and Maddy's father... :) Also would you mind if I used your idea about her going back home? It's a really good idea, I never thought about her going home! It would give her more depth as a character.

Thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and review!