Author's Note: I am pretty much writing this as writing practise, I fully expect it to suck. I have never published anything on this site before. Critique and feedback is welcome, I'm always interested in improving my works. Oh yeah also if by some cruel twist of fate you actually enjoy reading this, I will not be consistently uploading by any stretch of the imagination and frankly if I get more than four chapters in I will be horrified. The bit you're actually reading this for: Lissanda deGrave is an average girl, ask anyone. She's pretty, but not head-turning. She's smart, though her own tests will prove she's not exceptional. She's the second daughter of a minor merchant in a less than important corner of the Empire. She's mostly liked by her classmates, and by people in general, but she has never quite fit in with the 'In' crowd.  Actually, her averageness is probably the reason she's still attending her Third Year Studies of the Arcane at the somewhat prestigious Feltersgate College of Arcanic Arts. In a world where you're surrounded by the children of the most influential nobles and priests within a hundred miles, sometimes being no threat is better than being a weak one.  You see, it takes more than a little hard work and passing a few exams to make your way in the world of the budding Arcanist. It takes money, or connections, and Lissanda has neither. What she does have is a dusty old spellbook, a knack for forbidden magics, and nothing to lose.