Fire
Vanessa waited until the whole class filed into the room before she started her explanation of what she explained to the four of us just before class. She continued, “Every single being in Vellum holds some volume of magic within their bodies. Some of us are born with more magic than others. The amount of magic in your body factors into the fire aptitude test but so too does the study of magic as some have inferred to me before.” She shot a measured glance at Melody before turning to the board and placed a few words on the board. She pointed at the three words Ignis vocare foras, “These are the three words you will use to summon forth your magic, this is derived from Terre’s Latin language. Little is known why it is a human language that helps to summon forth this magic, but we know it is most effective. I will be calling you forth and you will light the fire in the hearth on the wall. I looked to where she pointed her desk was on the right and the hearth was on the left wall. She said, “The hearth is enchanted with a magic spell that will write out your score in the air in front of me so I can see what your score is. Those who are lower will have to spend more time crafting, but it doesn’t mean you cannot.” She called up student after student until she was down to the four of us. She pulled up her list as she had before every other student to record the last student’s results and to look who was next, “Derek Chalshin, you are up now.”
Derek let out a breath of air and leaned towards me then whispered, “I’m not so good at magic so please don’t laugh at my score.” I nodded because I was more than certain my magic would be miniscule as well. He went in front of the hearth and raised his hands, “Ignis vocare foras.” The hearth lit slowly, and the text showed up in front of her it wrote out 50%. She nodded, “Okay Mr. Chalshin, not great but not bad. You may return to your seat.” He came towards me with a nervous smile on his face, it was the first time I had seen him look so sheepish. Usually, he had a confident grin on his face as if the world was his. Vanessa recorded the score then spoke, “Jess Kellen, you are up.” Jess strode confidently up to the hearth and raised her hands. She smirked at Derek, and he shrunk in his seat, and she chanted the words. Vanessa spoke, “75% is not bad Ms. Kellen. Just above average. You’ll have no problem here.” As before she recorded the score as Jess strode confidently towards us and stuck her tongue out at Derek. I was beginning to think that my mousy best friend is ultra-competitive with her fellow lycans. Vanessa summoned Melody to the front who also strode forward confidently. She shot me a snooty glance before chanting the spell. Vanessa spoke, “Ms. Maigny your score is the highest of the class so far at 77%.” She walked back to her seat with her nose stuck up in the air, thinking she won against me. Vanessa recorded her score and spoke, “Ms. Batiste, please show us what you’ve got.”
I rose from my seat nervously; all eyes were on me, and I knew that my score would be the lowest. I walked up to the hearth and pulled my hands up. I spoke the words nervously, “I-ignis v-vocare f-foras.” Nothing happened then I dropped my hands, and I could hear Melody loudly whisper to her friend, “She’s too human. I knew she lacked any talent. Maybe she should go back to Terre.” I rolled my eyes and glared at her over my shoulder. Vanessa spoke, “It’s because you stuttered, Ms. Batiste. Try again with more confidence.” I pulled up my hands, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I told myself, “You can do this. Show that you belong.” I spoke the magic spell again, “Ignis vocare foras.” Just then a rush of heat shot up and slightly out of the hearth. I looked over my shoulder at Vanessa whose eyes widened and then she smiled wide. I looked back at the fire to await my results but there was silence for a while. Vanessa finally spoke, “Ms. Batiste, I have only seen results close or a little over than this once before. You scored a 90% which is 5% lower than my own. You are what the Elder Council would consider a Magic Savant.” A gasp from the other students filled the room and you could hear several whispers. Vanessa spoke again, “Alright, class settle down. Ms. Batiste, please take a seat.” I turned to find Melody glaring at me with her arms crossed across her chest. She was slightly read and if she was a cartoon, I would imagine steam would be shooting out of her ears. I smiled at her and winked which made her angrier.
As I sat down, I could hear a student whisper to another, “With a score like that, she might be a shoo in for one of the scribe spots.” I had not thought about the implications of what being a Magic Savant might be. I didn’t really want the coveted spots because I did not want the reputation of being a crown chaser. The scores would no doubt be sent to the council and that would not bode well for my ambition to lay low. I was already the talk of Vellum but with a score that was almost as high as Vanessa’s, it would garner more attention. Vanessa spoke again after recording my score, “Of course, your scores will be sent to the Headmaster, the Elder Council and the King. They will determine if your skill will be useful to both your chosen career fields and to the kingdom in general.” I sunk in my seat feeling defeated, Lucien would know that I would have a leg up in the scribe competition. How would he feel about that? I already told him in his disguised form before I knew it was him that I did not desire to become a scribe just to get into his robes…literally or suggestively.
Vanessa spent the rest of the class explaining to us the tools we would be working with to make our magical tools this semester. We would need various material like glass, metals, and stones. Sometimes the materials would include special items like the fur of a lycan or the blood of a pyrio. It all depended on the use of the magical tool. Such magical tools would temporarily allow its user the ability to imitate the powers of the creature who gave up their essence as Vanessa put it. I had wondered to myself what sort of power a lycan could give to a pyrio. It was as if Derek was reading my mind because he whispered, “Lycans shift into wolf form. You’d be surprised how useful that is.” I leaned to whisper to him, “What about the other thing you experience?” He smirked at me, “Are you interested, darling?” He winked at me and gave me a seductive look. I thought to myself, no wonder why my father wasn’t a fan of lycans. He did say they would mate with anyone with a pulse, I had wondered if Derek’s interest in me was purely primal. The class had ended after Vanessa told us that our next class would be a demonstration of the Essence Magical Tool creation and what it can do for us.
I sat in my seat for a while which left both Jess and Derek to sit with me until the class left. Vanessa came over to me, “Everything okay?” I shook my head and I fidgeted with my pen for a while before I looked up at her. I gave her a pleading look, “Would you do me a favor?” She looked me in the eyes with worry on her face, “Depends, what would that favor be?” I sighed, “Can you fudge the numbers that you report on the fire aptitude test?” She sighed and shook her head then walked over to her desk. She picked up her book and walked back over to me. She put the book in front of me, “Find something familiar about this paper.” My eyes widened; the paper had a slight shimmer to it which meant that it was magic paper. I nodded and she continued, “This means the numbers were reported as soon as I wrote them down. That means Malinus of the castle, Josiah of the university and Veritus of the Elder Council all have the numbers right now and are likely reporting to the Queen, the Headmaster and the Elder Council.” I looked up at her, “Why the Queen and not the King?” She smiles, “Well she too has a say over our students’ careers. She also helps to oversee the Scribe Selection for the first years.” I sighed and nodded, “Okay, I understand. I guess I will just be subjected to whispers some more. Wouldn’t be the first time but at least it won’t all be negative like before.” She shrugged, “I’m sorry Xan if I could protect you from everything I would. Sadly, this is not one of those things I can protect you from. I have a duty to report these numbers to the interested parties.” I rose from my seat and patted her on the shoulder, “It’s okay Ness, I understand. I really don’t need to be sheltered from everything and I need to grow up and learn that life won’t always go the way I want it to. I’m on my own now, technically so I need these life lessons. I guess my trajectory is Scribe Selection so I should just go with the flow. I will need to make His Majesty aware somehow, that my sudden change of heart does not have ulterior motives.” I said this knowing I can make him aware through our correspondence with each other but outwardly letting prying ears know that I don’t have contact with him. I had felt that Melody was listening in at the door and I never went against my intuition. I started to walk up the stairs, “Thank you for your instruction today. It was really enlightening.”
