“All right class, recite the components of an inscription circle once more,” the professor said as he paced back and forth at the front of the classroom. Tall, thin, and with graying hair, he seemed as if he once had an incredibly sharp wit but old age had began to catch up with him.
“Element,” the class began in unison, but then strayed into a jumble of differing answers.
“It’s element, circle, shape modifier, flow lines, runes, then an activation circle around everything at the end,” one student spoke up.
“Yes, thank you Talynn. You need to memorize your spells in this order if you are to perform them efficiently. I see too many of you still haphazardly forming inscription circles with your lumi in no particular order. It slows down your casting speed, which makes for an ineffective mage. Your instructors thus far may have been lenient on the matter, but such sloppy spellcasting will not be tolerated for those of you who make it into secondary school.”
“Bet I can guess at least one person who’s not going to make the cut,” one of the students named gave Talynn a pointed look. His light green tunic and red cloak matched the rest of the student’s uniforms, but his curly black hair and haughty brown eyes stood out from the crowd.
“If you’re going to interrupt class, Gelusik, at least have something intelligent to say. Moving on,” the professor continued. “Remember to pay attention to the orientation of your runes and glyphs. Inscription circles are directional. Facing components the wrong way will either cause the spell to fail or backfire. Quite literally. You could accidentally fire a spell at yourself.”
The professor paused, standing almost completely still while he stared into empty space. After a few seconds he nodded to himself, finally remembering the next part of his lecture.
“Remember to practice your element manipulations tonight, especially those of you with fire or air element affinities. While element manipulations may not be as dynamic and powerful as spells, they don’t require you to form an inscription circle, and thus they can be cast nearly instantaneously. Being able to attack and defend faster than your opponent could very well make the difference between you winning and losing a match in the tournament tomorrow.”
“Professor Kano, when are we going to learn spells that use more than one element?” A student asked.
“Jayce, you can hardly cast a single element spell without injuring yourself, stop worrying about multi-element spells,” said Kano, eliciting chuckles from his students. “You’ll learn those in your secondary school if you’re lucky enough to make it there.”
“Aw, it’s almost the last day, can you show us just one multi-element spell?” One of the girls pleaded.
“Fine. I guess practical demonstrations count as teaching. Here is a basic dual-element spell,” Kano conceded and began drawing a complex series of shapes and runes on the chalkboard.
“Oh lord, it’s horrifying,” Jayce said as the daunting inscription circle took form.
“This is why they don’t teach this until secondary school. Two inscription circles linked and encapsulated within another inscription circle. That means you have to transmute two different elements and manipulate at least three times as much lumi to cast the spell. Observe,” Kano held his hand out in front of him in a ‘stop’ gesture.
A faint yellow aura of lumi began to form around his hand. He then transmuted it into the air element and began molding it, the lumi changing from a yellow misty glow into solid green lines that danced in the air. After the first inscription circle was made, he formed a second next to it, this time with red lines that seemed to spark and flicker. Enclosing the two within another circle, he then cast the dual-element spell.
The room was filled with the sound of a rushing breeze as the air element formed a thin horizontal tunnel of wind. When the fire began to mix with the wind, it turned into a brilliant stream of flames that looked like a thin, fiery tornado. The beam of fire shot back in a straight line over the heads of the students and collided with the light-tan brick wall. Bits of rubble flew out as the fire ate into the brick. After a few seconds, it vanished, leaving a small crater and a large black soot mark on the wall.
“Behold, the Flame Spear spell. The wind amplifies the flame while also containing it, concentrating the power of an industrial furnace into a narrow beam. As you witnessed however, it is not a simple spell. You have to transmute two different elements and sustain them while forming three inscription circles. It takes incredible lumi control, in fact most mages have to use two hands to cast it.”
“How the heck are we supposed to remember that long of a spell,” Jayce buried his face in his hands.
“Practice, of course, is a factor. However, powerful spells require complex inscription circles, and it’s virtually impossible to memorize every spell in existence. This is why mages typically carry a spellbook with them. Oftentimes they are handwritten by the user as a reference guide both to casting their own selection of spells and identifying enemy spells. But, it would be prudent not to rely on such a book during battle.”
“Why not? What’s the point of having the book then?” Jayce asked.
“Mages are scientists, not miracle workers. What others see as ‘magic’, we know as science. Lumi is not supernatural; it is a form of energy. Spells are just applications of that energy. Inscription circles are not mystical incantations; they are formulas,” the professor said as he resumed pacing back and forth.
“I’m not telling you this as part of some philosophical discussion, I’m telling you this because it’s essential for battle. Being able to quickly identify the components of an inscription circle allows you to read the spell your enemy is casting. Thus, you have a chance to predict their attack and evade it, or cast a defensive spell. Now, at your current level, reading each other’s inscriptions isn’t that difficult. The average fourth-year student takes four to six seconds to cast a simple spell. But, as you leave the academy and venture beyond these walls, you will find skilled mages with many years of experience who can cast a complex spell within one to two seconds. Hardly enough time to consult a book and still have time to react. That’s why constant study is essential for a mage. The more you can commit to memory and the faster your recollection speed, the higher chance you have to predict an enemy spell, which gives you a chance at winning even against a mage far more powerful than you.”
“So you mean someone like Talynn might actually have a chance at beating someone?” Gelusik piped up.
“Oh shut up. At least I can pass basic math,” Talynn shot back.
“At least I can cast a spell without using lux chalk,” countered Gelusik. “You should just drop out considering how talentless you are at magic.”
“Whatever,” Talynn muttered.
“Settle down you two. I’d be lying if I said I’ll miss your constant bickering. Now, tomorrow is the tournament, make sure you’re in the assigned arena for your bracket at your assigned time. If you are late, you will be disqualified. Class dismissed. Talynn, come see me after class. Which would be now. Good luck on the tournament, students.”
“Yes, professor Kano?” Talynn said as the rest of the class exited the room. Getting lectured for squabbling with Gelusik wasn’t surprising, in fact, it was a relatively common occurrence. But that wasn’t what the professor was intending to talk about. He sat down in his chair, exhaling as his aching knees finally were relieved from standing.
“Talynn, it’s difficult for me to say this,” Kano said slowly, his head nodding up and down as he overenunciated his words. “But, I’m pulling you out of the tournament tomorrow.”
“What? Why?” Talynn dropped his books onto the floor. “My grades are perfect in this class! What did I do? Is this because of Gelusik? Because if it is, he should be getting in trouble too.”
“No, no, it’s not because of Gelusik. You’re a good student, Talynn. And you’re a hard worker. But quite frankly, you don’t stand a chance in this tournament. Your other teachers might be afraid to say it, but I’m not. I’d be doing you a disservice if I lied to you like that.”
“So you’re pulling me from the entire competition just because you don’t think I’ll win?” Talynn slammed his fist on the table. He began pacing back and forth, taking his trusty mage hat off to run his hands through his hair. “How else am I going to graduate?”
“I’d like to say that you can do it if you just believe enough, but that’s just not reality, Talynn. It’s your fourth year now and you still can’t perform a basic element transmutation. I don’t know what to tell you,” Kano shrugged.
“Please Professor Kano, don’t pull me from the tournament. I need to graduate, I can’t be held back while my friends move on to their secondary school! I might not be the smartest or most talented kid in class, but I work hard and study hard” Talynn pleaded. “It’s just this one little thing I can’t do.”
“Not being able to cast a spell on your own isn’t a ‘little thing’, Talynn,” Kano said with air quotes. He paused for a moment, stroking the stubble on his chin. “Listen. If we’re being honest, I think we both know you’d do a lot better as a scholar than a mage. I can get you into a great program on my recommendation.”
“No, I don’t want to be a scholar, I need to be a mage so I can get into the Empress’s Guard! I can’t sit inside all day while my best friend goes on adventures without me!”
“Talynn, if you can’t get past the second bracket in the tournament tomorrow, they’re going to hold you back anyways. You’d have to beat two mages when you can hardly use magic. I know it’s difficult, but I’m sparing you public humiliation.”
Talynn exhaled in resignation and sat down at a desk. After a minute, he gave a weak nod and got up to leave the classroom. He lingered for a moment in the doorway, turning his head to say one last thing. “Please don’t take me out of the tournament. At least let me fight. I’d be more humiliated if I didn’t even get to try.”
“I’ll see what I can do. But don’t get your hopes up, kid. Like I said, we’re mages, not miracle workers. You can’t win with lux chalk.”
Talynn cast his gaze outside as he walked, his disquieting thoughts weighing on him like a ton of bricks. The arched stone windows of the sky bridge overlooked the grand mage academy building, the warm noon sun reflecting brightly off of the light tan brick walls and dark red conical roofs. He paused to take in the familiar sight once more. The view had always inspired pride and excitement in him. He thought back to his first year at the academy with fondness.
Here he was, accepted into the finest mage academy in the land by recommendation from the emperor himself. His diligent study and training put him at the top of his classes. Teachers, classmates, friends, they all were sure he had great potential. But slowly, that started to change. Other students discovered their elemental affinities. He never did. They began casting spells without the aid of wands and lux chalk. He couldn’t. He went from being at the top of the class to being the butt of the joke. Now, after four years of schooling, there was an overwhelming probability that he wouldn’t be able to make it into secondary school.
His dream felt further away than ever before.
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