Three days later, the compound’s guards notified us that tomorrow there would be no classes, and that everyone would be going elsewhere for most of the day. This was not surprising as we had been told that there would be some kind of test performed on all of us to determine whether we are capable of learning magic. The pessimistic part of my personality was doubting whether any of us would be able to pass it, if anyone from our school possessed such an ability they were doing a good job of hiding it.
On the other hand, I still hoped that I would be one of the few gifted ones among the students. Even though that would push me straight into the ‘limelight’, which was contrary to my plan insofar, my inner child marveled at the possibility of being someone who could perform magic. On the wagon ride to the palace Louis decided to ask us a question.
“Guys, what kind of abilities do you hope you’ll have?” He asked us expectantly.
Leigh, Max, and I gave one another some skeptical looks before I decided to rain on his parade a little.
“Louis, it’s difficult to answer such a question given that we know next to nothing about sorcery to begin with. Until we get a thorough explanation from one of the so-called ‘magi’ it’s not a good idea to speculate…” I ended my words with a stiff smile, hoping to tone down Louis' excitement before we got told off for being too rowdy.
“Yeah man, if you keep raising your expectations you will most likely be disappointed with the end result.” Leigh agreed with me, tempering some of Louis’ ever-increasing enthusiasm.
The palace grounds themselves were very vast, artistically divided into sections with walls, fences, and hedges. The amount of effort and money the Jenusian Emperor must be spending on maintenance alone is likely to be astronomical.
The wagons arrived in front of a very large compound, with a fountain near the entrance. The statue in the middle of said-fountain looked remarkably like the Rod of Asclepius, a symbol used to represent medicine in our world. A beautifully carved snake was wrapped around a stick-like object with an orb of sorts on the top.
The orb was made of some sort of blue see-through material, and due to the fountain waters pouring on top of it from multiple directions it remained clean. There was no sign on the main building to tell us exactly where we had arrived, but I could see Kuvira waiting expectantly near the entrance surrounded by her usual guards.
She headed down the steps and exchanged some words with Mr. Hendricks and the other teachers who went to greet her, after which Mr. Hendricks and the other teachers told us to gather around so that she could tell us something.
“Good day to you all, all of you who were summoned to Euphelia from far away will be undergoing a short test to decide whether you have potential to become a magi or even a magister. This place is the Jenusian Magisterium, it is a place of learning similar to what you would consider ‘universities’ back in your homeland. The people here are a little more eccentric than others you may have met in the past and as such I encourage you to be on your best behavior and act respectfully at all times.” She announced, using the English term for university as there was no equivalent in Rahlian.
She then guided us inside the expansive building which was built no less extravagantly than the palace proper, which we learned from Goer was called the ‘Marbellum’. The style however, was quite different. The atmosphere inside was a lot more gloomy and eerie than anywhere else. The people there were stoically observing us from head to toe and the only sounds that could be heard as we headed deeper inside were our own footsteps,
We eventually arrived in something akin to a lecture hall, which was one of the few spaces big enough for all of us to sit down. Surprisingly the test would be performed on a raised podium which would allow everyone to see what exactly would be happening.
Kuvira urged all of us to find a place to sit on the benches while we wait for the test to begin. My roommates did not care about our seating arrangements but I convinced them in hushed tones to sit as close as possible to the podium. I could not afford to miss anything in regards to the upcoming test, as whether or not I would try to pass it would depend on what exactly the test was.
If this test was rare enough that it could only be done here and now then I would have to give up on my plan to stay indiscreet and try and find out for sure if I had any aptitude for magic today. If however, it was something that I could reasonably do at a later time, even if this meant waiting for years and years, then I would try and weasel my way out by just looking like I tried to perform in the test.
Within ten minutes of us sitting down and my inner thoughts causing me to space out, the doors through which we entered opened, and immediately the air around us seemed to cool. Four men dressed in robes even more extravagant than the ones we saw on our way here entered. All of them elderly in appearance. however, the way in which they carried themselves was anything but.
The robes themselves were yellow and orange in color, with intricate patterns weaved in between the seams giving them a very flamboyant and regal air. The gaze of the four men spread across all of us like a hawk searching for its prey before eventually landing on Kuvira and softening as if it was not even there to begin with.
Kuvira stood up elegantly and walked to greet them right next to the podium, close enough so that I could hear them where I was sitting.
“Magister Kenner, it’s so good to see you again” Kuvira said, wearing her usual smile.
There was a pause during which the right-most man was staring into Kuvira’s eyes intently.
“I see you have been keeping up with your training girl, it’s good to see that your time as my apprentice wasn’t wasted. Be sure to keep at it” Kenner replied, no longer seeming as unpleasant as he was a moment before.
“Why of course, it was a great boon to be able to learn from you Magister, I would not deign to let such knowledge wither away” Kuvira state coquettishly, now turning her gaze on the other three men. But before she could greet them as well Magister Kenner interrupted her.
“Child, let’s get the aptitude test over and done with, there are over three hundred people here and if we dally about with greetings any longer we’ll be here until the sun goes down” He said off-handedly, marching up the steps to the podium before urging the others to do the same.
He stood there proudly, glancing in every direction as if searching for someone in particular, before turning back to where Kuvira stood and beginning his explanation.
“Greetings to you all, messengers of Gera. I am Magister Kenner the preeminent sorcerer in Jenusia, and today you all will be undergoing the aptitude test. This is nothing to be afraid of however, and this is actually something every noble undergoes at least once during their childhood. In fact, this test is only dangerous when performed by inexperienced magi’s and I am very experienced.” He stated, grabbing the silver chains around his neck before continuing.
“These chains are the proof, I am a fifth-circle sorcerer, and as such have the privilege of calling myself a Magister. You will be as safe as possible today, so do not worry about anything. There are is no exact knowledge on how prominent sorcerers are in Euphelia, but in my experience, only one man in a hundred is gifted enough to reach the first circle so do not hold any lofty expectations regarding your results.” He finished his speech, before beginning to speak in an even more foreign-sounding language than Rahlian, of which I understood only the last word “Ignis”.
All-throughout Magister Kenner reciting his words I felt a change in the air occurring. The best way I could describe it would be a magnetic pull, which centered itself on the Magister’s hands, which he raised above his head. Near the end, a circle of fire began to form above his hands, looking like a very intense angel-halo. As he spoke the word ‘Ignis’ he spread both of his hands outwards causing the circle of fire to spread out in all directions, eventually hitting the walls of the hall before petering out.
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Both students and teachers alike, were enraptured by the sight of a human wielding fire in the palms of his hands, the entire hall was seemingly in a trance, up until the point that the fire began to spread out in all directions above our heads. I myself felt a primal fear, which would be considered normal as if anyone was hit by that fire they would definitely be burned. Shrieks erupted all around me, the loudest of which was probably Louis, almost bursting my eardrum.
All I could do was close my eyes, a few moments later, not feeling any pain, I opened them again and looked at Kuvira. She stood there with an arrogant smile on her face, unperturbed by the sight of a man shooting fire out in every direction by just chanting some words.
Magister Kenner sat down in one of the prepared chairs, seemingly happy with the reactions of his audience. The other sorcerers were too acting normal sitting down on either side of him.
The panic caused by the spell faded only after a split few minutes of the teachers calming down the more frightened students. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them even developed some sort of phobia after this experience. Eventually it was decided that the test would begin.
Kuvira took on a managerial role and began to speak to Mr. Hendricks and Ms. Cardoza about who would be going first and in which order we would be tested. In order to verify that the aptitude test was indeed safe Mr. Hendricks volunteered to go first during which he received a lengthy explanation from Kuvira as to what the test actually was.
In layman’s terms, all you would have to do was hand your arm to Magister Kenner after which he would determine whether you had any magical aptitude. Mr. Hendricks did exactly that, not entirely sure about what was about to happen. The Magister grabbed his hand and made Mr. Hendricks’ palm turn face up before placing his other hand on his wrist, focusing his eyes on it as well.
The whole excitement surrounding the aptitude test was infectious and I too thought there would be some sort of event that a spectator could enjoy, but this just looked like someone testing their pulse. Where was the crystal ball? Where was the same magnetism that was present when the Magister changed a spell?
Mr. Hendricks did not seem too comfortable during the test even if it didn’t look like much was going on. He wore an almost pained expression and I began to speculate what exactly the Magister was doing to him to cause so much pain. Was his grip that strong? It certainly didn’t look like it. Magister Kenner’s appearance was that of a man in his sixties, which for a medieval society was very old. In addition to the lack of healthcare and good nutrition, he didn’t look like someone who regularly exerted themselves physically.
Eventually the Magister’s face bloomed into a smile before he stood up and enthusiastically hugged Mr. Hendricks. This reaction surprised not only Mr. Hendricks, the other Teachers, and the Students, but Kuvira too.
“HA HA HA! What a pleasant surprise this is, the first person to perform the aptitude test has such great potential!” He cheered enthusiastically.
The Magister did not force his affections onto Mr. Hendricks for too long, eventually letting him go but not before heaping further praise onto the dumbfounded teacher. Mr. Hendricks came down from the podium before asking Kuvira why the Magister was so happy.
“Why was he so excited about the results of the test? I didn’t really feel like I did that much while he was holding my hand” He asked.
“The Magister is a rare talent for the Jensuian Empire, during the test you must have impressed him to such an extent. Although the fact that the first person being tested passing must have been a fact as well. As he said earlier, only about one in a hundred has any chance of making it to the first circle, although the numbers are not too accurate as one’s bloodline plays a factor in such things as well. Your ancestry must be very noble Mr. Hendricks” She answered, a more naturally pleasant expression on her face than usual.
This evoked an unexpectedly sinister look from Ms. Cardoza, one which Mr. Hendricks surreptitiously missed.
“No, no, as I told you before Lady Kuvira I am not a noble or anything. In fact in the country where we come from there is no nobility of any kind, so this must be a coincidence.” He humbly replied, before taking a seat to oversee the rest of the proceedings.
The order in which the test would be conducted would be teachers first, then going grade by grade from oldest to youngest. As I was only a 10th grader, I’d have to wait patiently for a while longer, which gave me plenty of time to observe, not that it did me much good.
Observing the aptitude test being performed could only yield limited information, it just looked like the Magister was measuring the people’s pulse while holding their hand very firmly to the point that it caused them pain.
To the surprise of no one, Mr. Philips who was tested next did not pass and as such the Magister returned to his previously serious expression. What was a surprise however, was that Mr. Reuter who went after him passed the test. He too was subjected to an embrace from the Magister, after which he descended from the podium and assailed Kuvira with a barrage of questions.
“Child, is this some sort of elaborate joke? How could two out of the three people I tested have magical aptitude? You know all too well that this is an anomaly of humongous proportions!” He shouted, waving his hands passionately.
Lady Kuvira remained calm, waiting for the Magister’s emotions to subside, before answering his questions.
“Although it is indeed surprising that just three people in two have been found to possess magical aptitude, it is not as unusual as it seems. In the records of the Priesthood of Gera, it was said that many among the previous divine messengers possessed gifts hitherto unseen. I myself hoped that more than the expected three individuals with potential would be found among the summoned, it seems my hopes have been answered” She replied, urging the Magister to continue on with the aptitude tests.
And so, the tests continued, out of the twenty or so teachers only three were found to have aptitude them being Mr. Reuter, Ms. Cardoza, and Mr. Hendricks. Although using the term only might be inappropriate, as this was a statistical anomaly judging from what we’ve been told by the Jenusians.
The tests continued on, and the surprises kept coming up with them. A very disproportionate amount of the upperclassmen were found to have magical aptitude, one of whom unfortunately for me was Kevin. The tests were interrupted by Kuvira announcing that we would be having a break for lunch outside, and while munching on a provided sandwich I contemplated the risks of giving someone like Kevin a power that could blossom to a similar level as Magister Kenner’s.
Kevin was someone who could be objectively called a morally corrupt individual, and finding out that he was someone special among his peers would exacerbate the issue even more. It was surprising to me that the Jensuains viewed sorcery as a whole in such a positive light. Although the power to shoot out fire from your hands might seem to others as something devilish and evil, from what we were taught by Goer, it seems they viewed the issue entirely differently.
If someone on Earth during Medieval times manifested the power to shoot fire out of his hands, it would immediately be branded as witchcraft and the work of the devil, at least in Abrahamic societies. This was a power that almost seems like too much for one man, the reaction of course would be different if this happened in Modern America. If for example, Kevin managed to prove unequivocally that he could shoot fire out of his hands with a chant, he would most likely be taken by the government against his will, in order for experiments to be performed to understand this unnatural phenomena.
The Jenusians, Magister Kenner and Lady Kuvira in particular, were wearing wide smiles during the lunch break, and any doubts about Magister Kenner being a human like the rest of us and not some other species entirely were disproved when watching him converse over a meal with Kuvira.
Lady Kuvira explained during the lunch break that one had to reach the fifth-circle in order to be able to call themselves a Magister, and Magi were sorcerers who were between the first circle and the fourth.
The lunch break was taken at about the midpoint of the aptitude tests, and at this point more than thirty people were found to have magical aptitude, most of them being students. And near the end of the first round of tests, the whole proceedings transformed into an almost religious experience.
The look in Magister Kenner’s eyes did not change after lunch was over, his gaze was no longer as judgemental when looking at us, and I felt his eyes meet with mine at one point and saw no malice or anything of the sort in them.
He walked up to the podium and sat down in his chair, and looked ready to continue the tests where they left off. During the break I found out that the people accompanying him were two colleagues who were about as high in the hierarchy as he was, and his apprentice who was not yet a Magister, but a Magi.
Magister Kenner’s apprentice carried with him a leather-bound book in which he wrote down the names and ages of those that passed and failed the aptitude test, this document was very valuable to him as during the lunch break he did not eat with the rest of us and just stood next to his master while clutching it in his hands.
My roommates and I would be undergoing the tests soon, and the looks on their faces did not vary much. All of them were excited, and Louis in particular was no longer as gloomy as he was when he found out only one in one hundred had any chance of wielding these fantastical powers.
The trend of our group having a substantially higher chance of wielding magical potential continued on, and when my turn finally came I was almost swept up in all of the excitement like my roommates were. Since they were from the grade below mine, I’d have to undergo the test before them, and as I stood up they wished me luck in becoming one of the ‘lucky’ ones among us.
I did not consider it as great a thing as they did however, and even before my turn came I made the decision to not try during the aptitude test. From what I have observed thus far in this world, it was not a good idea to draw attention to yourself from the Jenusians big-wigs. This is a cruel world, and I would need to stay low-key until I was at the point that I could live independently, far away from the dangers, be they human or beastly in nature.
After handing my arm to the Magister he grabbed my wrist just as he did with the other students, but I surprisingly did not feel any pain like I thought I would. The sensations in my arm were out of the ordinary though, it felt like there was a stream of water pushing itself upwards from the point at which my wrist was being held, and instinctively I tried to hinder it.
But before I could fully focus my willpower on blocking the foreign energy in my body, I realized that my goal here was not to pass this test, but act like I tried and fail it and so I allowed the energy to flow through me without any resistance on my part. And the experience was not painful per-se, but rather very uncomfortable. It was like an itch spread across my body that I couldn’t scratch, and I decided to imitate Mr. Hendricks facial expression to give the Magister the illusion that I was trying.
I began to doubt myself as it felt like the test was lasting longer with me than it did with the others, and I convinced myself that it wasn’t the case and it just felt like it was longer until the point my eyes met with the Magisters. They were no longer fixed on my wrist as I thought they would be, but they were staring straight at mine.
Could the Magister tell that I was faking it? If so this would spell unwanted trouble for me, and right as I began to worry about him revealing my deception he opened his mouth.
“He fails” Magister Kenner told his apprentice.