Mike

(Colosseum, Academy Grounds)

The entrance to the domed Colosseum was massive, large enough to accommodate two full houses side-by-side. La'ar, or one of him at least, led House Zayin into the Colosseum, which by all accounts was more massive than any training ground or stadium he'd ever seen. He'd once been to the Exploria Stadium in Florida as a birthday gift from Aunty Lauren, and he'd thought that was huge.

This stadium just took the cake.

Calum hadn't been lying when he said it was enormous, and when he said it was four times larger than a football field, he thought he'd been speaking about American Football. He was probably talking about the outside too. This space, unlike most stadiums, wasn't designed with hordes of spectators in mind, rather it was designed for training and space.

Lots and lots of space. And facilities.

Parts of the massive field had targets, and others had running circles that enclosed only a small portion of the field. There were climbing walls, boulders, and demarcated spots for what looked like Javelin or shotput. One could be forgiven for thinking that this was an Olympic stadium of, well, godly proportions. Instead of having to clear the field for an item, however, you could do everything at once, and still probably not endanger anyone. If you were a normal person that is...

"It may be impressive on the outside students, however, these magically manicured lawns are in fact bigger on the inside! More than one and a half thousand feet of pitch, 500 meters from one side to another. We thought a square pitch would be better for practice. This way we can use scale and measurements more accurately. Also, we're going to need the space, since there are 3000 of you after all. There are different circuits, all of which will either be to your gift's advantage or completely useless to you." La'ar, still floating above them, gestured to the vast expanse. He continued to float towards the area where there were a number of targets positioned.

"If you haven't yet figured it out, your Gifts are now available for free use. Please activate them now." He said, continuing mid-air and turning around to face the clump of 300 students as they followed him down the turf.

Mike was about to mentally command 'Activate' when he watched as those around him tapped in the air.

It's really weird to see them do that when you can't see their Link.

Mike instead opened the Link by hand, tapped on the 'Gift' tab, and pressed 'Activate'. The small but brilliant blue flame winked into existence right in front of him once again. It was only the second time he'd ever seen it, since that first day with Joe and he hadn't been able to activate it since. As it hovered right before him, he could control it by moving it mentally, but when he wasn't focusing, it tended to just dance around him randomly. As they walked, the most spectacular sight he thought he'd ever seen sprang to life bit by bit.

Mike nearly forgot, but the others had never seen their powers, or even used them, if Eris was to be believed. Gasps and giggles aplenty lit up the air as a variety of spectacles emerged. The boy in front of him, who'd sat next to him in the hall, yelped in surprise as his arms turned into massive blades. The girl he'd chatted to behind him was mesmerized as little balls of water floated in between her hands. Some people had different colored flames coming out of their hands, and another one was floating, rapidly losing their balance and tumbling through the air. Some held weapons that just appeared in their hands, and others were watching electricity arc along their fingertips. Just then, a gust of wind whooshed right by Mike. There, walking beside him with a giddy but flustered look on her face was Sam. She hadn't been there a second ago.

"Mike! Did you see that!? I'm so fast! I can like, feel how the power activates! Everything is soooo slow when I'm moving, but when I don't run, it all goes back to normal! How insanely awesome is that!" she practically bounced, her speech slightly sped up too, before she darted off again far too quickly for a normal person.

So she's a speedster I guess? Seeing it in person though is just...

"Incredible, isn't it students?" La'ar said as he floated over to the tumbling girl who had no idea what to do, gently righting her and letting her float next to him as he addressed the class. Each of you presently has the very simple and rudimentary beginnings of your power, basic as it could be. Each of your gifts has varying 'roots' as we call them, where you will discover their various uses, applications, and how exactly to use them with regards to whatever task you might find yourself doing." La'ar spoke, most of his words falling on deaf ears as the students before him were simply too enamored with the revelation of what was happening to them. By this point, everyone had come to a stop in front of the target area.

La'ar pointed to the girl who had little bubbles of water floating between her fingers. "Students, here's a small test for you, how do you suppose Emma here has the ability to wield water?" La'ar asked.

Sam shot up her hand and answered much faster than should have been possible. "Magic, sir!"

La'ar smiled as a couple of students giggled at the answer. "Correct, Samantha, however, that isn't the answer I'm looking for. Allow me to rephrase. How is the magic wielding the water that Emma is holding?"

To this line of questioning, no one ventured to raise a hand as they thought hard about the question.

It seems obvious, magic is magic, right? Is he asking how magic works fundamentally? Mike thought hurriedly.

After a few seconds, La'ar sighed slightly. "Emma, would you project your Link to me, and highlight your Gift page? You simply tell it to project." he asked kindly.

Emma did as she was told, pushing buttons on the Link only she could see until it sprang to life in front of her and La'ar. He took one look, nodded, and floated away, allowing her to figure out how to close the projection by herself.

"Alright everyone, for your first lesson, let's apply what we know." La'ar began, entering a lecturer's tone. "Emma's power is obviously a water-based Gift. Now, its name is rather universal and has many iterations, but your Link calls it rather poetically by the name 'Dewdrop'. What do you notice about her water?" La'ar asked no one in particular. One guy, an enormous flaming hammer in his arms, muttered out with disinterest. "It's a waste of time to fight with. Totally useless in battle except if you wanna garden someone to death."

Everyone looked over incredulously at the guy, who in turn rolled his eyes at those around him. Emma burned red at the statement, either from anger or embarrassment Mike couldn't tell.

Who dragged in the local delinquent? Mike thought irritably. I thought we were all going to be the best of the best, or at least respectful. Seems bullying doesn't change just because you're gifted.

A boy with clods of dirt stuck to his body shot Flaming Hammer guy a baleful glare and raised a hand. "It's small droplets, not a whole lot of water?"

"Correct, and a good observation Stanley. Aden, I personally suggest you withdraw your... curious statement concerning Emma's Gift until you've witnessed what it's truly capable of." La'ar fixed him with a raised eyebrow before moving on. "Now everyone, think of the name 'Dewdrop', does it evoke the sense of, say, a waterfall of water?" La'ar asked the group, to which they all shook their heads.

"Precisely. Dewdrop is a seemingly small and unassuming power, but wielded correctly can be deadly, and make you incredibly mobile. So, let me ask my previous questions slightly differently. How do you suppose Emma's water comes to be in her possession?" La'ar asked alongside the girl still bashfully floating in front of everyone. Mike thought hard about the question.

That makes... A little more sense I guess? How does she get her water? She switched on her power and it just appeared, but I didn't see how it appeared. La'ar is asking us to think deeper though, and giving hints. He spoke about the name like it was important.

Just then, Mike had an epiphany.

Just like mine! He spoke to me about its name, what that means, and how it relates to my power. Maybe...

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Mike's hand shot up and he answered, "Sir, does she condense the water in the atmosphere around her and gather it together to get the water?"

La'ar stilled at that. "And how did you come to this conclusion Michael?" he asked with a curious tone.

"You asked earlier about the name. Dewdrop isn't a name for a lot of water, and an actual dewdrop comes about in the cool mornings when atmospheric water vapor condenses to form droplets. So, I thought maybe her power condensed atmospheric water?" Mike answered cautiously. He had no idea if he was wrong or not, but he didn't want to seem disinterested. He cared about this, and if he thought he had something to offer, he would.

La'ar smiled at the answer. "Correct." La'ar continued floating above them. "As Michael correctly surmised, Dewdrop naturally draws in atmospheric vapor and condenses it into water globules. That is how the power works. Automatically, that is.

With that, he lowered the floating girl down as he clearly prepared for a demonstration. He smacked his hands together and little droplets identical to Emma's formed between them. "I will demonstrate the potential of Dewdrop when utilized in an advanced form by destroying three targets, and then challenging Samantha to a race, using only the Dewdrop Gift. Would you all like to see that?" he said with a smirk. A chorus of "Yes!" went up and everyone grinned as La'ar turned away from the group and spied three targets.

"Samantha, pick a starting point at the edge of the group. I will begin our race where you choose, and we will see who gets around the entire group first," he said academically. Sam had a manic grin on her face as she zipped over to Mike faster than he could track. She moved to the edge of the circle, but not before whispering to Mike, "Ready to see our teacher get smoked?"

At this point, all eyes were on La'ar as he stayed floating above them. The targets he had set his sights on were all massive stone slabs with circles drawn on them. He was approximately 50 meters from them. He moved his arms as though he were turning over a bowling ball, and squeezed the water globes together into one, then with his fingers he 'stroked' the water into a thin line. That's when it happened. He moved as though he were holding the water like a stick when he made a whipping motion and let go. The water shot out his hand, and the thin line sped towards the target vertically, impacting the target with a sharp crack, a rumble, and some steam, with bits of rock flying off from the impact.

Before everyone's eyes, the steam cleared to reveal the stone slab cut cleanly in two, both sides having fallen away from each other. The students gawked, whilst Emma in particular looked...scarily excited. La'ar then turned his attention toward the next target. Once more he compressed the water down into an incredibly thin stream, then he flung it once more, however this time he didn't slice through the boulder. The water struck the slab in the center, and this time La'ar splayed his hands in the direction of the rock. What happened next Mike could only describe as the rock having an existential crisis and shattering by attempting to emulate a water porcupine for a second, as the stone emitted several throbbing cracks before crumbling into much smaller rocks. By now, everyone was gasping and gaping, incredibly impressed.

As La'ar set his attention on the final target, Mike sidled over to Samantha who, for once, was looking a little unsure of herself. "So, about smoking the teacher..." Mike began, earning himself a glaring side-eye, making him beat a hasty retreat. La'ar had gathered the water into a ball, and Mike thought he would compress it again, however, La'ar did something much more unexpected. The water lost its fluidity and instead became what seemed like a perfectly sculpted ball of glass. La'ar had frozen the water. This time La'ar's movements weren't small or precise. Instead, he seemed to heft the ball magically before adding rotation to it, imperceptibly, but it was there. Everyone's eyes went wide, and hushed whispers flitted about as he then caused it to swing around his hand, faster and faster until it began to make a deep thrumming sound as the ball was apparently reaching close to the speed of sound if the vapor trail now surrounding La'ar's arm were any indication.

Then, in the most absurd display Mike never thought he'd have the pleasure of witnessing, La'ar took a baseball pitcher's stance, the still revolving sphere of ice and vapor held above him, before launching it with an air-rending boom and perfect pitching form towards the innocent slab. It was so fast, had Mike blinked he wouldn't have witnessed its flight. The sphere collided with the target at unthinkable speed, exploding on contact in a cloud of vapor, steam, and dust. The ringing in the student's ears meant an eerie silence was all they heard for the next few seconds as the cloud dissipated and only small chunks of rock remained of the once proud target slab. To think a couple of small droplets of water could do...that!

La'ar turned around, seemingly pleased with his display. Seeing each of them enter first into awe, then shock, and lastly being completely dumbfounded must have been gratifying.

I know I'd feel that way if that had been me... Mike grumbled internally.

"Emma?" La'ar looked her way pointedly.

"Yes sir!" she stood at rapt attention, her eyes wide with glee.

"Would you say you don't find your Gift to be...a waste of time, anymore?" La'ar spoke whilst holding steady eye contact with Aden, who sighed with irritation. "Lastly, before we reform the targets and let you all have a go, our race must be held. Samantha, are you ready?" La'ar said, floating over to her before dropping to the ground for the first time.

Sam looked a little wary of La'ar, but nonetheless plucked up her spirit and grinned. "Feels like I was born to race, so bring it on!"

La'ar smiled at her and then spoke to the class, who were craning their necks to see what was happening. "Emma, would you mind giving everyone a display of your speed? Run twice around the group perhaps?" he asked graciously.

Sam wasn't the shy type and beamed out a "Yes sir!" before going into a running crouch and exploding off her mark, ripping up dirt and grass in the process. Mike decided to be her stopwatch. He nearly missed her first lap as she ripped by him just 2 seconds after she had started, and finally clocking her second lap at a neat 5 seconds.

She's insanely fast! Mike thought with admiration as the rest of the class had similar reactions of admiration.

"Did you all witness that? She speeds by at quite a pace. Now, to make this fair, I will take the 'outside' track, does that sound fair to you Samantha?" La'ar asked with a sly smile on his face.

"Not my fault if you lose!" Samantha quipped back at him, to which La'ar seemed to radiate joy as he chuckled at her antics before looking over to Mike. "Michael, would you do the honors?"

Mike didn't know how to feel about being singled out, but he obliged, standing outside the group circle to mark the edge of La'ar's 'track'. The racers readied themselves. Mike counted them down. "2 Laps. Ready? Set?....Go!" he shouted.

As before, Sam exploded off the line, the air almost making a dull 'whump' as she took off. La'ar was still on his spot, but making rapid body movements in his first second before reaching open-palmed behind himself, curving his body inward towards the circle and letting off a massive explosion of steam which rocketed him forwards. Mike could barely tell what was going on. It happened so fast, but La'ar looked like he was standing still, leaning almost horizontally, and gliding in a tight circle over the turf. Sam had just passed the starting mark in a rush, 2 seconds into their race. La'ar rapidly caught up to her as they passed almost halfway around the group, and just as they came to the finish line, what seemed like a photo finish concluded the race. The assembled group cheered and clapped as Sam ran a 'cooldown' lap to slow herself down, whilst La'ar launched himself into the air up a barely perceptible ice ramp, before slowing down almost immediately, and floating back towards the group.

"Samantha, truly, your speed is exemplary. Students, who won that race? It was rather close, wasn't it?" La'ar ventured. Several hands shot up. La'ar looked over at a short-statured boy wearing glasses. "James? You saw, yes?" La'ar prompted.

"Yes, sir. I saw clearly. You won by 12 milliseconds." James said confidently. The rest of the group, including Mike looked somewhat skeptical of the claim.

How would he even begin to know something like that? Is he just trying to get brownie points or?...

"Indeed. James, you have the Gift 'Glance', correct?" La'ar asked matter-of-factly. James' eyes bulged behind his glasses. The rest of the class was taken aback by La'ar's admission that he was correct

"Yes, sir?" he responded with confusion.

"That Gift is perfect for espionage, precise measurement of time, space, and eventually, the weaknesses of whatever is glanced at, amongst other things," La'ar spoke up. "Now James, please share with the class what I did to win the race." he said, floating over towards Sam, patting her on her shoulder. She grinned and shook her head in dazed disbelief, huffing slightly.

"Well sir, several things happened in the first second. First, you seemed to coat the bottom of your boots in ice, then you created blades out of the ice for them, like ice skates. Next, you created a thin and narrow layer of ice on the ground and angled your body in such a way that you would streamline your coming momentum. To create said momentum, you continuously gathered globules of water in one hand and..." Here James paused, looking for the right words. "Well, I suppose you forced the water into a compressed state, boiled it rapidly, and contained the resulting steam explosion with magic into a perfect cone shape I think, propelling you forward at the needed trajectory whilst you leaned over into the circle."

Mike was rather technically minded, though what James was saying implied something rather extraordinary.

That means La'ar had to rapidly cause several differing reactions using a very small amount of water. On one hand, ice for his feet, on the other, a steam explosion to propel him forward. But that wasn't enough, since that would have just sent him flying. He needed to lean into the circle in order to get around and contain the momentum without falling over either way.

James continued. "What happened next was that you indeed launched forward, however, you continuously added a minuscule layer of ice right in front of you, which somehow didn't break as you were skating along the side of it. One burst of steam was enough momentum since you conserved it completely, it was enough to win you the race."

"Well put James, thank you," La'ar said amiably. "Do you see students, the potential of just a few drops of dew? Now imagine what you can do with your Gift. Truly, the possibilities are immense!" he said excitedly.

"Well House Zayin, I believe it's your turn!" he said as the three targets in the training area magically reformed into the solid slabs they were before and La'ar gestured towards them. "It's time to see what you can do."

A buzz set in the group, the excitement palpable. Mike grinned despite himself as they squared up, ready to have their go at the targets.

This is going to be fun!