Ulf sat as if on burning coals. Finally the classroom was empty. Master Tiberion had noted something on a parchment and was sealing the scroll. When he saw Ulf's horrified look, he smiled reassuringly. "You do not have to be scared. An order came from the inner circle that we offer to all disciples who show themselves to be great talents in transmutation, whether they want to join the zodiac. "

"The zodiac?" Ulf asked, frowning.

"The zodiac is a group of magicians who succeed in taking the form of an animal. Unfortunately I am not proficient in it. Even if I tried, I failed. Go to the Grand Mistress. I have explained everything here in this parchment. She will be able to tell you what to expect. "

Ulf was overwhelmed, even though he had never heard of a zodiac. He went to the water dragon who led to the Grand Master's office. Master Tiberion had called him the password Horatius. He laid his magical hand on the stone dragon, and before he could say the password, he awoke to life and made his way to the office. What's going on here? Did I only need to know the password? Confused, he knocked on the door.

"Come in," came the voice of the Grand Mistress. Ulf entered the scantily furnished room. "Master Tiberion sends me to you."

"Sit down," she said, pointing to a chair in front of her desk. Ulf handed her the scroll and looked around the room. In one corner stood a few manifested spirits. The fact that they were in the middle of a table ruled out that they were human. His first eyes fell on a serious man with curly reddish-brown hair. Ulf immediately recognized him as Elmar Erikson, who had asked him during the decision that he should make sure that Verenus no longer had this negative reputation. Ulf smiled and turned his gaze to the ghost with whom Erikson was talking. Young Verenus turned white as he recognized him. Well, the man in his appearance had shorter hair and his beard had not been that long, but his eyes were unmistakable. Ulf cursed himself. He had seen him many times before. Finally, he also wore his name. Ulf Horatius.

"What about you?" Grand Mistress O’Hara asked, worried.

"All right! Everything alright, "Ulf replied stuttering.

"Master Tiberion wrote me about your accomplishment. Do you think you can do it again? "Ulf just shrugged. The Grandmistress put a stone in front of Ulf and he repeated the magic. This time the button became even more filigree than his first attempt. It also took less effort for the boy and he was able to let go of his magic faster. The Grandmistress stared in amazement at the completed work. She went to a dresser and took something from it. She put Ulf's button back on the desk and put another one next to it.

"I conjured this button in my first transformation. My masters were impressed by how skillful it became. But unlike yours, it fades. You have now performed even better than during class. At my time, I also got the offer to join the zodiac. It is a sublime feeling to become an animal. These other senses that you have as an animal are fascinating. But I have to tell you that it is a long and very long way. I finally managed to turn myself completely into a raven in the fifth year. "She stood up and briefly took on her animal form before turning back.

"You must be warned that this is a dangerous endeavor and it would take a lot of hard work on you." Like a secret command, four ghosts suddenly stood beside the Grand Mistress. "These are our founders. After them our four circles were named. They also founded the zodiac and were the first to adopt their animal form. Ammar Aramis could turn into a tiger. Inex Irmengart in a hawk, Tia Tamika in a wolf and Valentino Verenus in a snake. Do you want to follow this path? Your father did not succeed. He may be the most powerful magician walking on this earth today, but his start in transmutation never had the scale that you show here. I need to know because I taught him. "

Ulf had already made his decision when he entered the Grand mistress’ office. He just nodded because he was afraid of stuttering for joy. "All right then. Wait a second. I have to get some more documents. "She left the room and Ulf took his courage. He wanted to get to the bottom of the election ceremony. He got up and went to the corner, where his namesake was still deep in conversation, stammering, "Grand Master Horatius, sir."

"What do you want boy?" He asked with a warm smile.

"Pretty outrageous the boy. He should introduce himself, "Elmar Erikson glared at him.

“My name is Ulf Elmar Yannik. My father told me that I carry the names of the greatest magicians of the past century, "Ulf said proudly to Grandmaster Erikson. "It's an honor to be named after you."

What he saw now, Ulf surprised a little. A tear ran down Erikson's cheek. "The biggest magicians? What did your father say about me? I'm sorry, but I have to go. "He slipped through the next wall. "Poor Elmar. He spent so much time building an aversion to your father that he never thought your father would ever appreciate him. Let's come back to why you wanted to talk to me. "

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"Forgiveness. I have only one question. I wanted to know why you appeared to me at the election ceremony, "he began.

"I do not understand what you mean," he asked, confused. Ulf finally told the whole story. Horatius listened attentively. When Ulf finished the story, he said nothing before answering, "I'm sorry, but I was not. You have to confuse me with somebody. As you say, this man appeared outside the academy. But I am bound to this place and can not leave it. "

Ulf was disappointed because he had hoped that he would finally get some answers. Before he could say anything, O’Hara entered the office again. He followed her as she sat down in her chair and pushed a book across the table.

Zodiac

Follow the path to your guardian spirit

"Besides, you have to sign here. It is an agreement with the zodiac that you have been cleared up about everything. This parchment must also sign your parents because you are still a minor magician. Read it and sign it on the left. «

Ulf read it all through. When he found out what could go wrong and even risk losing his magic or getting stuck in the animal form, he began to doubt. But this only lasted a short time. When he read everything, he put his signature underneath. "That would be all for now. Lessons will start after the Christmas holidays. There are still some applications to be made to the Inner Circle and the Zodiac, but I will do that together with your parents. I do not think there'll be any trouble with your father. "

"No!" Ulf protested loudly. "I really want to join the zodiac, but only because I deserve it, not because of my father."

She looked at Ulf understandingly. "I understand you. It is not easy to stand in the shadow of your father. I'll see what I can do. "Ulf thanked her and left the office. He still could not believe it.

The next day they had Defensivo with Master Pascal. He was the circle master of Aramis. After going through the list of names, he turned to the class.

"Defensivo could be called a continuation of transmutation," he began with the explanation of the lesson. "With transmutation, however, your magic only works on the surface, and you must let your magic penetrate your artifacts here at the Transformations." They practiced creating a magical shield. As a basis, they got a golden ore lump. No matter how hard Ulf tried, his shield was always too weak. After the double hour he left the classroom, relieved and exhausted. Finally, the long-awaited afternoon arrived and all first graders went to the aptitude test for the Crossride skills. Since the first selection games were pending, it was decided that all from the first year should come to this statement, which wanted to be set up for the competing team. Since it was almost impossible to be accepted so far, the entire two years seemed to be present. Even Navina was there.

"Do not worry. I'm only here as a spectator. I do not have time for Crossride. There's so much to learn. "Ulf shook his head in disbelief. That was typical for her. It was only three days school and she was in the learning stress. To his annoyance, Ariane was also present. She even wore all the gear of a cross-rider. Typical Malakin! Always the best there is to buy.

Mistress Rania came and looked around in the round. "Which one of you does not know the rules of this game?" She asked, counting her raised fingers. About a third of those present answered. Martin was one of them. "I think it's better to first explain how Crossride is played."

She walked toward the middle of the field and all students lined up around her. "As you can see here, there is a cross-field of three different areas. We are here in the area where the warriors and guards are staying. The four warriors try to get the Russel into the opponent's goal. "She raised her hand and a black leather ball appeared in it. "It does not matter if you play it with your head, hands or feet. It just can not be arrested. The guard guards the gate. Each hit gives five points. "Ulf knew the Sinma were playing a game called a soccer that basically went like this, except that Crossride's goals were three times as big.

"Can a Guardian guard these gates at all?" Martin asked, puzzled. "They are way too big."

"Magic makes it possible to run faster and jump higher. That's why it's important that anyone who wants to play Crossride has his magic under control. "Martin gazed admiringly at the gates. The next area is the transparent platforms above the field. "These platforms were at different heights and even reached almost the playing surface. Here are the jumpers. They're trying with their Takle, "she used her magic again to show a hit that looked like a double stick. "Keep the comets away from their team, preventing either the players, the guard, or the runner from completing their task. There are six comets and each team has three jumpers.

Finally, there is the runner. They stay on these tracks, which you can see at the edge of the board. Whenever the players manage to score, they get a red rusher. "She held a red ball in her hand. »The runners must try to complete the obstacle course with this ball in one hand. There will be five hurdles to overcome on the way, either to skip or through. Green hurdles are skipped, red hurdles must be overcome below. Any mistake, such as touching an obstacle or getting it over the wrong way, will take 10 points for the Rusher. If the runner succeeds in surviving the run and he succeeds in throwing him past the guard, he earns 50 points for his team. If the ball loses all points or falls to the ground, it disappears. As soon as the first runner has sent the ball into the opponent's goal, the rusher disappears from the opponent's runner. The game ends as soon as three Rushers have been transformed, regardless of which team. "

She looked around the room and finally asked, "Are there any questions?" When everyone shook their heads, she went on. "Then let's see who's capable of playing for his team. It will be best if everyone tries once to complete the route as a runner. You do not need the Rusher for that yet. You will have enough work to do to keep up your magic while you are running. "Ulf was quite nervous as the first set up. The number of students decreased rapidly. Most failed at the first obstacle. Malakin was in front of him and got the permission to apply to the circle team. Luciano did it too. Two from Irmengart, one of them was Martin and the other Ulf did not know. He made his friend happy before he got his turn. He got up and waited for the whistle.