Whispers of war and change

An hour before the start of the class at the magic tower~

Guru sat at the intricately carved table placed inside one of the rooms of the magic tower. Before him lay a peculiar fruit with reddish skin and green appendages which rose upwards like ethereal flames, and the oval body of the fruit resembled a large, mysterious egg. The Guru, clad in plain white and black robes which had exquisite ornate embroidery at the hems meticulously peeled the fruit.

A subtle hum signaled the arrival of the senior disciples, their holographic forms materialized in a circle around him casting a surreal glow upon the room. Their expressions were grave, burdened with the weight of the information they carried.

Guru looked up from the peculiar fruit, his eyes reflecting both patience and concern. "My dear Ketszang" he greeted, his voice a gentle resonance that filled the room. "What news do you bring from the realms beyond our sanctuary?"

Kaeya, the eldest of the disciples, stepped forward. His holographic image projected the landscape of the outside world. "Guru," he began, his tone somber, "I am afraid the winds of change carry whispers of war. They echo through the hearts of men, women, and even children. The eight heads of the clergy- Octarches, are rumored to convene soon at the palace at the behest of the Emperor Sovereign."

Guru nodded, his gaze fixed on the holographic projection. "War," he murmured, the weight of the word echoing in the room filled with different types of magical artifacts. "Continue."

Ishan's holographic images shifted, revealing a populace divided. "As expected the people have not taken to the news well. They are torn between the need for the clergy's involvement in war and the cries for peace. Protests have erupted, demanding a resolution that doesn't involve the horrors of war while others demand the clergy to do their duties to their country. Some are imploring the clergy to dissuade the state from any talks of war and some demand them to do this as the moral upholders of the society. The clergy attempts to placate the populace and handle the situation, but the results are as unpredictable as the tides of the sea."

Another senior, Leoxy, spoke next. "The loose confederation of sovereigns has become restless. Meetings with the Emperor Sovereign are frequent, taxes spike abruptly but remain generally manageable, and the market for ores and metals is thrown into chaos due to the shift in supply lines – all clear indicators of preparations for war."

Kaeya's holographic images shifted, revealing the images of different political leaders of the two factions. "Tensions escalate between the two factions - the Sovereigns and the Guardians. Small issues grow into mountains and whispers through the grapevine suggest that the Sovereigns are actively sabotaging strategic trades, blaming it all on the Guardians. The cold war is palpable, the presence of soldiers multiply in the borderlands, the abundant trades between the two continents reduced to a trickle, and tourism ground to a halt."

Arin, another one of the seniors spoke up, "Surely the clergy, the advocates of kindness, and who preach about peace and love would not stand for it. If they stand firmly against war there is nothing the Sovereigns can do since a civil war with Octarches will destroy them from within."

"No", the Guru said with finality. "The Octarches will not stand against the idea of war. Not this time. They cannot."

After a brief moment of silence, the Guru motioned his hand to continue.

"City barriers are reacting," reported Arin, another senior disciple, her holographic image displaying the chaos within the cities, the unrest that is spreading among the people, the protests, and many gatherings of people with signposts, some for and some against the war.

"The defensive artifacts, traps, counter barriers are all reacting to something. They activate without a known cause, causing suspicion and accusations between the Sovereigns and the Guardians. Conspiracy theories cloud the continents as both factions point fingers, each suspecting the other as the cause for the incidents."

"And the worst part is that neither of them is willing to entertain the idea that these things might be happening everywhere and not just to them. They won't even consider a third party might be in play or are knowingly ignoring this fact and only looking for a reason to fight. "

Guru's expression remained serene, as he listened to the report while meticulously carving the fruit at the same time. "Our world has been dominated by these two axes for such a long time now. One is either with them or against them - such ideology is the cause of our current state."

Guru let out an exasperated sigh "However, lately, my attention has been drawn to more important matters. I can feel the land convulsing, and the skies weeping, the fabric of reality has been fraying even further with no signs of repair." he revealed. "Tell me more of these absurd occurrences that I sense happening in the Southern lands."

As Armin spoke, other holographic images projected onto the table, illustrating the dire state of the southern regions. scenes of turmoil everywhere you see— "More monsters have started appearing recently. Unknown creatures never seen before had been sighted in the Southern lands even in the areas thoroughly mapped and their creatures all identified. This has shifted the balance of the Southern lands. These new creatures are faster, stronger, and more durable, They are affecting the local creatures and the established hierarchies have been flipped in a blink. Furthermore, due to the rise in the frequency of monsters, the added amount of competition has ensured the strong have become even stronger, turning the Southern lands even more treacherous. All the information gathered through the collective measures of mankind on the South over the years may soon become outdated and redundant."

A third holographic image, that of Zella who was in charge of a different part of the Southern lands, revealed more of the escalating natural aberrations. "Further into the South, monstrous creatures rivaling the Titans themselves descend from the skies, dropping like meteors. The very land is scarred as if someone took a bite out of them. Unfamiliar terrains appear overnight making our maps uselsss, climates shift with unnatural speed. Burnt carcasses fall from the heavens, fishes drop from the sky, and birds are found floating in the seas."

The senior disciples exchanged glances, their holographic images shimmering with shared concern. "Guru," Kaeya spoke with reverence, "the time of trials approaches sooner than we expected. The world outside our sanctuary is in disarray, and the shadows of conflict only continue to get larger. I fear it may one day engulf us all. Perhaps we can speed up our plans."

A heavy silence settled over the chamber as they waited with bated breath for the Guru's next words. The peculiar fruit lay peeled, its mysteries exposed like the world beyond their sanctuary. "The balance falters," Guru mused. "The harmony between the realms frays at the edges. We must tread carefully and seek the threads that bind us. thankfully so far things have yet to go beyond our expectations. But alas there is only so much that we can predict and prepare. Those children might be our only hope now. All we can do is blaze the trail for them, now when we can."

Guru let out a heavy sigh, "Yatris (world travelers) were so rare that you would come across one once in a millennia, and now...we have nine of them in the same decade. Probably more still unaccounted for. Each of them so so powerful."

A minute of silence went by as the seniors and the guru were mired in their own thoughts.

"The sanctuary shall stand as a lighthouse in the storm, and together, we shall be the steady hands that guide our world through the darkness."

"Good work all of you. You may return now, rest and your juniors will require your guidance now more than ever in these trying times. Make sure to be back in an hour. We must prepare them for the future."

As the holographic images of the senior disciples bowed in acknowledgment and disappeared, Guru, with the peculiar fruit in hand, finally took a piece of the fruit he was carving with such care and popped it into his mouth. He chuckled.

"Just the right amount of sweet and sour. If I had picked it just a day older it would have gone bad, likely fungus would have done it away. A day earlier and it would have been difficult to even chew. Such a peculiar fruit. I wonder if all Yatris are like that as well."

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

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Back to the present ~

"Now that we have reviewed the basics. Let us now begin our magical education in earnest."

"We already know what the ambient energy or chi is. One can utilize magic by harnessing chi. But...that is hardly any information at all. To use magic you need not only just chi but flowing chi. That is chi must flow in a certain manner to materialize magic. "

"Everyone has chi but only some can make it flow consciously. This is what separates the wheat from the chaff."

"Each magic class has its own type of flow which varies with each magic type. The only thing change you can bring out of chi through pure willpower is the magic type."

"You already know of the magic methods. Now I am sure many of you might be wondering what the magic types and classes I just mentioned are. Any ideas of your own? Feel free to speak your mind Ketszang. "

The guru often encourages us to participate in the discussion and speak whatever comes off the top of our heads at that moment. After all even dumb questions can be enlightening from a different perspective.

Perspective...that is what the guru tries to teach us perspective differs to each person and that too at different times. It differs in different situations, with different people around us, with different tools that we are provided at that moment, with different mindsets, with different emotions.

By asking these questions even ones that may appear as excessively dumb ones we peer into each other's perspective and mentality. To look at the world from a different angle.

Deciding to speak my mind, "I think the type refers to the form the magic materializes out as. Like the elemental types, water, earth, air, lightning, and so on. Or the type in my opinion must be related to what the objective of the magic might be. Like for say for offensive purpose, defensive, construction, support, healing, and so on."

"Magic class might be the classification based on the area of effect a magic has or the mana consumption of the same. Either that or it might be based on the potency of the magic's effects like how the pills are classified according to their potency by the Alchemists - earth, sky, heavens, deity."

Guru nodded, "Well, I am sure many of you have already guessed it right and you are right about that Kaito. Type does refer to what form the magic takes. There are 9 types of magic according to modern classification. They are - The Guru flourished his hand and soon nine words appeared on the blackboard like a power point presentation.

* Fire

* Water

* Earth

* Air

* Lightning

* Wood

* Force

* Light

* Dark

* Esoteric

Each word was accompanied by a moving image of that element and how it reacted with an object.

"The first eight are pretty much self explanatory in the sense that magic is converted into said elements but the final one that is esoteric is an abstract form of magic. It is also the hodgepodge of different magic types that failed to be classified in other brackets. It can consist of many forms of magic like Sasha's mind magic, even dream magic, love magic, or other abstract concepts like justice, and truth."

"Magic class though refers to the base effect a magic has. Magic can be divided into nine types of classes based on their effects."

* Enchant

* Projection

* Incarnation

* Animation

* Divination

* Alteration

* Healing

* Movement

* Binding

"Enchanting is the infusion of chi into something. You can infuse the chi into objects to exert the properties that you desire for a period of time. This is the bread and butter of the warriors and other melee-focused martial artists. Utilizing certain forms of enchantment to make their body hard as diamond, have strong muscles as flexible and resilient as steel."

The guru materialized a perfectly round stone, the size of a head on the table beside him which too materialized at the same time as the stone. He flicked his index finger on the stone and nothing happened. Then he showed his hand to us and shortly after some sort of circuits started appearing on his extended hand. He then flicked the stone again and the stone went flying into the wall where it remained lodged there.

"You have already known enchanting for quite some time now, it is what you call chi-reinforcing. it makes us temporarily capable of superhuman feats as long as you supply the spell with chi that is. It is also one of the safest classes of magic at earlier levels which is why I taught you this in the first place before proper magical education."

"Projection is the class of magic where you shape the magic and expel it outwards in a specific direction or just expel it all around you. Projectile magic like those utilized in bows, guns, and other artilleries belongs to this category. Projectiles are further classified into several types depending on their area of effect, distance covered and the damage dealt."

"For now, I shall show you a simple disintegration spell shaped like a bullet" A small bullet soon formed at the edge of his extended hand shaped like a gun, the spell was then shot towards the ball without, making a sound, and the ball that met with the spell disintegrated into motes of light.

"Incarnation is giving chi temporary shape. In other words, it is the conversion of energy into matter. These do not last very long as they lack true substance. This class of magic is also one of the most taxing in terms of energy efficiency. The ball and the table are examples of such. A true stone when met with a disintegration spell would have turned into dust but that one turned into motes of light. The Incarnated object is only as real as you imagine it to be. Remember that."

"Animation is manipulating that which is already present around you to your whims. You can change its shape, position, and temperature. It is also one of the most energy efficient classes of magic. Manipulating magic falls in this category and so does Telekinesis. Though telekinesis lies at the far end of the spectrum for animation magic."

He then extended his hand towards the wall and the wall tuned back to its former self with no evidence left of its former destruction.

"Alteration is changing the base form of something, its very existence turned into another. This class of magic of magic has a peculiar quirk in the sense that alteration can be the most energy efficient or the least energy efficient depending on what you are altering and to what you are altering. That is the reason the alchemists who have mastered alteration magic love metals like gold, platinum, and lead. These metals give higher returns and are more abundant in nature thus easier to find."

The guru tapped on the podium and it turned to gold. He tapped it again and this time it became a diamond. He once again tapped it and it became wooden again.

"Divination is a lesser explored class that focuses on magic involving the past and future. It uses the esoteric type of magic fused with the elemental type of magic and most often requires the help of a catalyst that aids in spell casting. It is a workaround of time magic since only those with an affinity can use it. The users of divination magic are able to in concept communicate with the land, or the water bodies, trees, etc to gather information about what has happened there before or what will happen after."

"Spells like the Memory of water, Rings of tree, and Carvings of the earth are all spells that allow us to look back on the past or communicate with the spirits of the land about what they think the future holds in store. As the native spirits of the land can peer into the past and the future, communicating with them and appeasing them can result in them sharing their knowledge with us. As such divination also focuses on communication with beings that are not mortal, the catalyst here aids in understanding the thoughts of these immortal beings."

"Pardon me but divination cannot be shown to others. And it is dangerous to peek into other's divination. There is a right of passage and a test you must pass to even begin learning about this type of magic. Although those of the Spirit path often find it easier and even instinctive to use divination."

The guru then stepped down from the raised platform and made his way towards me. I was quite honestly taken aback by his sudden actions.

"Kaito, you might not need those tests and rights of passage or even the catalyst at all since you can converse with the spirits directly being a spiritualist. Close your eyes, let the water be you, and you the water. Ask the spirits of the water for help."

"But-"

"No need to think too much just let your instincts guide you."

I closed my eyes and followed his guidance. This wasn't the first time the Guru had acted so spontaneously, so no surprise there to find out that he asked me to do something he had so clearly given precautions about just a few moments ago.

[Eunoia, I need your assistance.]

As you wish Master Kaito.

Rest assured, I shall also mitigate any spiritual harm if there will be any.

At least it's not unsupervised. Plus I got two great healers beside me. Not to mention the Guru helped me reform my spiritual body after that disastrous world hopping. So with Eunoia and Guru here I should be safe.

I emptied my thoughts and once I felt calm and my whirlpool of thoughts hidden away I reached out to the spirits through our connection. I could feel the spirits of the waters, the seas, the lakes, the rivers, and even a slightly illuminated spirit who was a bit different from the rest of the spirits of water. It felt familiar and yet different. Thinking not to mull it over too much I gathered my courage and decided to ask of all the spirits present.

"Can you tell me something, anything that I should know about, anything about the futu--"

I heard the illuminated spirit speak and not speak at the same time as it cut me off. Its thoughts straight up ramming into my being. - (Words are not necessary here.)

Just as I was about to reply, the metaphorical ground within my mind faded away. Like ink dropped into a glass of water, I felt my existence dilute and expand. A vision soon came to me - of bubbles, so many bubbles trailing in a circle, the bubbles at the center fusing to become larger ones and the bubbles at the end of the spiral thrown along the tangents and bursting shortly after.

I heard voices, familiar voices, echoing from a distance, they all seemed to tell me something. But I could not make out the words - B...h Ka.. o the.....ito eathe.....KAITO BREATHE DAMN YOU.

A sudden pull and I found myself back in the classroom, my ears were ringing, and I could see the worried faces of my fellow disciples and the Guru shaking me front to back in my seat. I weakly raised my hand to indicate I needed some space and some time to get myself back together.