Mike

(The Colosseum, Academy Grounds)

The target shattered as Aden roared and swung his flaming hammer in a high arc, connecting with a resounding boom and a flash of flames. Satisfied, he walked back to the waiting Professor Dranor and the rest of the class.

"Alright, thank you, Aden. Everyone, listen closely. Unlike the elements of water, air, and earth, all of which materialize as objects with weight, fire is singular, in that it does not. It's a unique element, especially magical fire. Observe." Dranor said, pulling out a t-shirt from his pocket along with a lighter.

"Natural fire, whilst potent, has to start somewhere. It does not exist without aid, unlike air, water, and earth," he said, starting the lighter. "Fire also takes time to burn something, especially when small. It is fragile and can be killed by any number of things, like water, foam, and even deprivation of oxygen. Thus, fire is also a fickle thing." he continued, holding the small flame under the t-shirt and letting it burn. The t-shirt took but didn't burn up quickly, the flame only gradually picking up size. "One more thing about natural fire, is that it always inevitably goes out, making way for the others, air, water, and earth to rebuild in its place." he said in reverence as the shirt had now been mostly consumed by the flame. What was alarming was watching as the flames licked the professor's hand, yet didn't burn him. Suddenly, he flung the burning shirt at Aden, who dropped his hammer and caught the shirt, yelling, "What the hell!?" throwing it between his hands like a hot potato, before stopping and staring at the fire in his hands.

The rest of the class was rearing to intervene, but Dranor had held his hands up to stop them silently, and they all watched as the flames licked Aden's hands, but he didn't cry out in pain, instead looking enamored by it. Dranor broke this reverie. "As you can see, you are all now more or less impervious to the effects of the natural state of your element. It wouldn't make sense for you to have a Gift and have it hurt you, yeah?" he said, taking the burning shirt from Aden and tossing it to those around the group. One by one they all watched, anticipating their turn. It came to Mike, who was weary at first, yet as he held the dwindling flame, he could feel it like he could feel the Wisp, a cool flame, not burning, but alive in some incredible way. He passed it on to the rest before it went out entirely. Once it came back into Dranor's hands once more, it went out and the ashes fell from his hand.

"The water, earth, and wind users also have affinities for their natural elements manifest in different ways. Fire doesn't burn us, water won't drown a water user, earth is malleable, even a diamond will hardly scratch an earth user, and the wind bends the knee to air users. We are all incredibly fortunate to have the elements we do. Now," he said as he drew out another shirt, this time without a lighter. "Magic is a different story. A natural element, whilst powerful, is but a plaything when next to its magical variant."

Dranor snapped his finger, and a spark appeared, morphing into a flame the same size as the lighter. He held the shirt over the flame, and instead of it taking slowly, in less than the span of a second, the shirt was engulfed and crumbled to ashes. Mike, along with every other student looked on with awe. "Magical fire can be used in two primary ways, all of which can be bent to differing paths. One, to burn, and two, to burst, as you saw earlier with Mike and myself. Once you understand the primary purpose of your Gifts, you'll see which of these two your Gifts naturally gravitate to. Everyone, activate your gifts." he said, folding his hands and watching. Flames of varying colours and intensities blossomed around Mike, as his blue Wisp floated around him.

Dranor gestured to Aden. "This Gift is called Hammer of Judgement, it's a magical hammer which, as you can see, catches fire when activated. What do you suppose its primary fire type is?" he asked the group in general. A stoic and handsome-looking guy with sparks falling off his skin raised his hand and after Dranor nodded he answered, "Burst-type? Sir?" Dranor nodded. "That is correct Stephen, but do you know why?" he asked the sparking guy, who simply shook his head. "The answer is because of how it affects other objects. What happened to the rock that Aden struck a moment ago? It shattered, yes? Ask yourself this, what would shatter a rock first; intense heat, or explosive pressure?" he asked, looking hopefully around a quiet circle of wary fire users. Dranor sighed.

"Naturally, explosive pressure is the answer. It seems like your brains need to warm up this morning, so please activate them for my next question. What do water and fire have in common with one another?" he asked, folding his massive arms behind his back. Whispers went around as the Fire users spoke amongst each other.

"What do they have in common?"

"They're total opposites!"

"What does this have to do with fire types anyway?"

What they have in common?... Explosive pressure right? I mean, La'ar used it in his demonstration yesterday! Mike thought, though he was too late to say so.

"They can both cause explosions when under pressure, right?" Aden spoke up. Most of the class went quiet, their eyebrows threatening to lift off their faces in surprise. Aden folded his arms, looking annoyed. "What? Didn't anyone else think of that?"

Mike smiled. So, it seems the guy isn't all talk and no brain. He's actually serious. So why the whole asshole act then?

"Aden is correct. Under intense pressure of whatever sort, explosions can occur. What happens when a gas can catches fire? Due to the compressed gas catching fire and requiring an outlet, it causes rapid decompression in the form of an explosion. What drove the Industrial Revolution? Steam. What powers steam trains? Heated and compressed water, turning into steam, driving the engine as an outlet is provided. Yesterday, La'ar showed you all a steam explosion yes? Water can burst just as explosively as fire, and at times, can be even more destructive. Now, ask yourselves this; What makes a fire burst the same family as a fire-type Gift? Since an explosion does not exclusively have to be made by fire?" Dranor paced in front of the students.

No answer was forthcoming from anyone as even Mike couldn't piece together the 'why' of the question.

I bet Joe would know why. Damn, I hope he's okay. Mike thought distractedly. Thankfully Dranor didn't notice as he continued the lecture.

"The why is fairly simple. What is the root cause of the explosion? If an explosion is caused by any sort of spark, flame, or another type of heat source, it is flame-related, and thus part of the flame family. Any material, once made hot enough, will burst into flames in the presence of oxygen, so heat-related Gifts are included. Does all this make sense to everyone?" he asked. Only nodding heads met him. "Good, now before you all begin to fall asleep due to your puny attention spans, let's get cracking. Tyrone, you're next." he gestured to a tall guy with brown skin and dreadlocks. Tyrone's face seemed neutral as he held his hand out toward the target. In his palm a flame appeared and grew into a yellow sphere, then a classic fireball shot away from him and crashed into the rock, exploding on impact, leaving the rock a molten orange with a hole in the side.

"Excellent use of your Gift Tyrone, Comet suits you well. Next!" Walls of flame that shot up from the ground, chunks of molten lava flying out, streams of fire coming out of the hands. Some fire came out of the feet, some out of the whole body, other fires were pink, some blue, others green, and then it was Stephen's turn. he stepped up and activated his gift. Sparks cascaded down his body, seemingly at random. Stephen looked at Dranor and said, "This is all that happens when mine activates. No fire yet, sir." he said sullenly. Dranor smiled.

"Try gathering all the sparks coming out of you into one hand, and close it into a fist." the professor said to Stephen, miming the gesture he should make. Stephen did as he was told and made a fist. The sparks gradually lessened around his body and began pouring out of his fist, the air shimmering around it. His face looked slightly alarmed. "Sir, it's getting a little hot now." he said quickly.

"Good, now bring your fist to the grass." Dranor instructed. Stephen did as he was told. As soon as he did, the grass leaped into flames, causing Stephen to pull back instinctively, diminishing the sparks, and causing the grass to halt its burning.

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"Don't! Keep it there." Stephen looked at Dranor warily, yet did as he was told. The grass burned once again, the flames beginning to grow around Stephen's fist. "Good, now, feel the flame and picture it staying in your hand as you pick it up." Stephen hesitated but opened his hand as though he were holding the fire. He stood up slowly, concentration written on his face, and as he straightened, the flame carried on within his hand, licking across his hand as though he were a fuel source. Stephen's face split into a grin when Dranor gave him his last instruction. "Good, now, visualize whatever method you'd like, and burn up that target. Go!" he shouted at Stephen, who looked at the target resolutely and held out his flaming hand. The flame distorted and began spinning up like a miniature drill before Stephen grunted and shoved toward the target with his whole body. The flaming drill flew at the target and hit it square in the middle, vaporizing up to the center and leaving a smoldering molten rock where the fire struck true. Whilst it didn't penetrate through, it was impressive nonetheless.

Stephen whooped and looked at the professor, looking as though he wanted to give him a hug, before thinking better of it. Dranor cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "So, how does it feel to use the same power as your instructor?" he asked with that same smirk plastered on his face. Stephen's mouth dropped open and he exclaimed, "You have Spark?! No way, that's insane! I thought my power was useless, but damn, it's actually awesome!" he beamed.

"Yeah, gifts are pretty cool, but it's how you use them that matters. You're lucky Stephen, your instructor knows your power intimately, so you'll be able to pick it up in no time. Good work! Alright, last up before we move to the field. Mike, show us what you got." Dranor said with a grin, as though he were anticipating something.

Mike moved to the range, but as he passed Dranor he said, "I don't think this will be what you think it is sir, I've struggled to do anything with the Wisp other than make it fly around. What happened with you, I've never even seen before." he said self-deprecatingly. Dranor just folded his arms and beckoned him to continue. The Wisp winked into existence next to his head and Mike mentally commanded it to float in front of his eyes.

Hey Wisp, you there? he tried thinking at the Wisp. If you are, do you think we could...I don't know, try not to make an idiot of me? Please? Make something big and flashy!

With that, he moved the Wisp into his hand and felt a connection to the little ball of flame he hadn't had before.

Maybe this time it'll be different.

Mike gathered himself for a throw, picturing La'ar's baseball pitch from yesterday. He felt it as the Wisp responded perfectly, feeling cool and light to the touch. He threw it with all his might and it flew like a thunderbolt toward the target

This time for sure!

* * * * *

Dranor

(Colosseum, Academy Grounds)

He's the Champion. Right before my eyes. Earth's Champion is here! With a Champion's Gift no one has ever seen before! There were certainly one or two Gifts today which I hadn't seen before, but this...this is different. It's almost as though it's not entirely fire. Also, I got the unmistakable sense that Mike was not in control at all. That 'Wisp' of his... it was as though it screamed into my soul, sharing with me the pain I had caused Mike. Poor boy, and what an idiot I was for not noticing, just because of something new and shiny in front of me. Amateur. Dranor chided himself

Still, it doesn't make sense. No Gift, no matter how rare, is unquantifiable to the Link. The Link has all the information the other's do, and then some! The database is constantly updated, but nowhere is there a mention of this. It's human-specific too, if the name has anything to say about it. I must speak to La'ar about this at once, Eleanor too. I took a picture via the link so I know what stands there at least, but it's all so unreal. What does it mean '?' at advancement potential? All Gifts have a verifiable limit, though this being a Champion's gift, I know it's supposed to be greater, but still. This is strange. It's Level 1, and a single blast made me put up my toughest defense. The heat was insane, and directional too. Can't fault my Spark for analyzing his fire while we were at it. The others might have found it hot, but damn, if I wasn't trained, I might have just been incinerated. Did it know? Is Mike just a really good actor? Guess his performance now will tell me all I need to know. he thought with interest.

The Wisp appeared out of thin air, effortlessly, and floated right in front of Mike's face.

Look at that control! Fire isn't an element that is necessarily graceful, and yet the Wisp dances for him, and moves where he commands.

Mike took the Wisp in his hand and took a baseball pitcher's stance.

Weird choice, but whatever helps you visualize. visualization is key with fire after all. Come on Mike, show me what you can do!

Like a speeding bullet, the Wisp flew out of Mike's hand as he threw it with all his might. It impacted the target and with an air-rending crack, it exploded with a spectacular display. The fire group ducked as projectiles of sparkling blue flames flew off in every direction, mostly scattering outwards and across the entirety of the field, their streams of smoke hanging in the air and showering the field below them in multicolored sparks as they traveled. As their arc reached their apex, secondary booms echoed around the indoor stadium as each stream exploded in a shower of blue streaks, catching every eye in the stadium bar none and shattering the windows around the lower levels of the dome. A fireworks display that would have made a New Year's celebration proud, although since it was indoors, it was both terrifying and deafening to behold.

As the last of the sparkles rained down, all the smoke coalesced in the center of the field, swirling like a whirlwind before winking out of existence. At the exact same moment, the Wisp reappeared next to Mike's head, which was currently hunched over, having taken cover from the massive display alongside everyone else.

Dranor's eyes widened as his brain caught up to the fact that he'd reacted instinctively and had a flame shield at the ready, but at no point had anyone been in danger, nor had anyone been hurt. He focused on the display he'd just witnessed instead.

There was heat, yes, directionality too, as well as precise control of multiple streams of fire, as well as the loosed projectiles, accompanying it were various shades of fire as well, for the purpose of...what? Theatrics!?

Dranor glanced at Mike who was huddling near the ground, his eyes wide with fear and confusion.

Mike didn't do this on purpose, did he?

Dranor looked back at the target, which was no doubt vaporized, but to his surprise...

"What the hell!?" he exclaimed out loud, breaking the class's stupefied state and bringing everyone to their senses. It also made it sound as though he was mad. What drew his attention though, was the fact that the target was perfectly intact, and not a scratch or scorch mark could be seen where the Wisp had clearly impacted, even at super-speed.

How did such a controlled and obviously real use of a fire gift not affect the stone in any way?

That was when all hell broke loose.

"My words exactly. Are you trying to show off idiot? Cause if you were, you could've got us all killed! This isn't a game ya' know!" Aden called out furiously at Mike, and a few other voices joined him.

"Geez dude, don't take your issues out on us!"

"Next time, think about others before you put our eyes out, yeah?"

"It's day one man, chill out!"

Mike's fists clenched and his jaw set tight, clearly trying to control the urge to say something back. Dranor wasn't sure, but he could have sworn that the Wisp stilled as the words landed, as imperceptibly quivered

"That's enough, all of you." Dranor drew the attention back to himself. "None of you were in any imminent danger, or I would have personally stepped in to protect you, as that's my job. So basically, that's an insult to me as well. I understand that maybe that display was frightening, but you should know better and think before you open your mouth. As you say, it's day one. Should I expect each of you to be perfectly proficient in your gifts? Or have no grace with any of your mistakes? I suppose if your power was an unknown entity and you messed up I should just expel you, yes?"

The class got quiet at the lecture, those who had called Mike out looking at the ground.

"That's what I thought. Mike's power is undocumented and thus unknown. Mistakes are bound to happen, but just like all of you, a little effort and practice will reign them in and hone them into Gifts that are useful. You are not in danger here at the Academy and I can assure you that as long as you are with me, you will never come to harm," Dranor turned his head to Mike, "not even from a really awesome power." he said with the first real smile Mike had seen on him. Mike was feeling a number of things at that moment, anger being one of them, yet another was also gratitude for Dranor's small speech.

The water users were making their way over, so it was time to move to the next circuit. "Any other smart comments?" Dranor asked the class in general. Having been met with a satisfying silence, he said, "Very well then. Let's move to the running track."

I can't have favorites, but allowing bullying in even a small amount invites future problems. It just so happens that Mike is the one I had to defend this time, but if even our Champion slips up, he'll hear it just the same from me.

Dranor walked ahead of the pack of fire-users, contemplating what this meant for them all.

I'm happy for Mike, truly, I am. But still, a Champion is needed for dire times. Is this because something is coming that we don't know about? There are way too many questions, and no answers yet. La'ar's gonna have his work cut out for him at our next meeting, that's for sure.

His smile faded as another thought struck him. This won't stay quiet forever. How will the Erlesen take it? Calumm's father will not be pleased about this, not at all. The man had trained his children to be candidates from practically the day they were born after all...

With these thoughts spinning around, Dranor led his class to the second of three stages for their first class.