Chapter 4

Az stared blankly at the class list lying on his table, his mind still reeling from the Chancellor’s address. He had walked back to his room in a daze, the experience of being face to face with a power so vast as to be utterly incomprehensible had shaken him to his core. His own father had been one of the most powerful figures in Macedar for two hundred years now, but Az had never felt from him that sensation of being completely exposed and dissected under someone’s gaze.

To reach that level of power.. What would he have to do? How many centuries of dedication were required to reach those heights? It would be a journey long enough for a dozen lifetimes.. but he’d never see those heights unless he took those first steps here and now. Az turned his focus inwards, to where his nexus hung like a blue star of light. With a mental effort, he drew some mana into his body, and directed it up to his brain. He exhaled slowly as his thoughts cleared; his doubt, his fear, the mana burned them all away and his focus narrowed to a singular point. Right now, all he needed to do was decide what classes to enroll in, and get his choices to Pillard Quark tomorrow.

Az shook his head and began to read, the last remnants of the mana he had drawn into his body fading away as his brain greedily absorbed it. It seemed there were three mandatory classes that all first year students were required to take: Introductory Magical Theory, Body Enhancement and Physical Training, and Spellcasting.

Reading the short descriptions of the class content provided, Az sat back in his chair, considering. The magical theory class would more than likely be painfully elementary given his family’s tutoring, though he knew some of the other nobles - at the least - would have a foundation provided by their education that would put them on a level near his own knowledge.

The Body Enhancement class sounded more interesting. It was a class meant to provide instruction into drawing mana from one’s nexus and using it to enhance and boost physical capabilities. Az had experimented with this application of mana over the years, though he had always been too fearful of defying his father’s instruction to do more than learn the very basics.

Spellcasting seemed to be a first course in the basics of casting spells with mana and studying the construction of spells from scratch. Interesting.

He turned next to the list of additional classes he could choose to take. The documents stated that a minimum of two additional classes had to be taken, up to a maximum of 3 electives, though he saw some had disclaimers stating that their scheduled lessons conflicted with other classes. That narrowed the possible permutations of subject choices somewhat.

Az scanned the list of classes, dismissing some immediately as he had learned enough about magic to know he had no interest in certain aspects. Golem-making, for example, simply didn’t rank high on the list of things he wished to learn to do with magic. There were some strange electives on the list; Principles of Mana-aided Gardening, Magical Ecology - Fauna and Flora.. the list went on.

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He was surprised to note that many subjects seemed purely academic, having little to do with the actual use of one’s mana. It made sense from a logical view point; not every student was at the academy to learn to wield one’s mana as a weapon. But still, what seventeen or eighteen year old would rather study herb-growing than, say, “Pyromancy for the Responsible Mage”?

Az took what he hoped was adequate time to make an informed decision, before completing the form that Pillard had given to him earlier in the day. In addition to the three mandatory classes, he had decided to enroll in the three electives that he thought would be the most useful as well as interesting. If he were mistaken in his choices, he was sure he could swap classes without too much difficulty.

His first choice was Basics of Battlemagic, taught by Mr. Zim. Az had heard of him over the years; he was a battlemage of some renown who Az’s father had even spoken of approvingly once. It seemed a safe choice as far as classes went.

Next was Physical Combat and Dueling, taught by Ms. Lare. Az had received quite a bit of combat training over the years, and this class advertised the fact that the students would be learning to fight with their bodies reinforced by their mana. The class would help build on what he learned in the Body Enhancement class and it seemed a natural fit for him regardless.

Az was a lot less certain in his final choice of class: Free Spellcasting. It had been close to the bottom of the list of electives. The class description had intrigued him, as had the fact that the instructor’s name was given only as “Dorian”.

The short passage underneath the class title said it offered instruction into the basics of casting spells without pre-learned spellforms. That is, making up spells on the fly, as needed. Az knew accomplished mages often did not need to use structured spells to produce simple effects. His father could fell a tree with a wave of his hand, or heat water with a touch. This class claimed to illuminate “the path to true command over reality, without the crutch provided by memorised spells.”

It seemed an audacious claim to Az, going against what he thought he understood of spellcasting. While he realised that his knowledge of spells was rather rudimentary, as he had actually never cast one, it was considered common knowledge that a mage needed to hold a spellform in his mind to cast a spell of any significance.

The spellform, often mentally pictured as a series of runes that the caster’s mana was channeled through in sequence, acted as a set of rules that informed a mage’s very nexus how to channel mana to produce the desired spell effect.

The runes were of a language imparted on mankind eons ago; they were the language of the Gods, and as such could directly program mana to behave as demanded. Az had read the works of scholars who purported that these runes or characters were commands that acted as instruments of a mage’s will, enforcing their desires upon reality itself.

To cast a spell a mage first memorised the necessary spellform, visualised it in their mind’s eye, drew mana from their nexus, and willed it into the shape of the given runes. The runes directed the mana to produce the desired effect. In essence, a spellform was the intermediary between a mage’s will, and an act of magic.

Sure, a mage with a sufficiently honed will could use their mana directly to command reality, but to do real magic a spellform was needed. Or so Az had believed. He would see if this “Free Casting” class was of any substance or if it were simply grandiose posturing on the part of this Dorian.

He would return his class choices to Mr. Quark that day, rather than wait. Classes were due to commence in two days, and he would rather sort out his enrollment as quickly as possible. Until then, he would explore the academy. Az had seen some of the key buildings on visits with his father or mother over the years, but now that he was a student he would have access to the library. He doubted there was anywhere in the world that contained as much knowledge as the sprawling jungle of bookshelves that was the academy’s grand library.

Two days, and then the magic would begin.