Chapter 18: Magical Flexibility

The classroom ended up being a little harder to find than the girls thought. Unlike most of the other classrooms, this one was not well-marked, seemingly tucked away behind a few of the other more noticeable classrooms on the floor. By the time they found it it was nearly time for class to start, and they were relieved when they opened the door and found Captain Ceres with only a couple other students. It seemed that they weren't the only ones running a little late.

"Ah! Zel! Miriya! Just in time, please, take a seat." Captain Ceres greeted them enthusiastically. He was standing on the far end of the room leaning on a desk, before him there were some chairs scattered in rows and facing towards the Captain. In the seats there were a few students who had made it early, Cleinz was among them and, Zel thought perhaps she was mistaken, but the woman from their earlier class whom Zel did not recognize was among them. Miriya and Zel took their seats to wait until class started, it also gave her a chance to take in the rest of the room.

The first thing to notice was how cramped it was. The fact that there was room for chairs was a miracle, as the walls were so coated with various texts and collections that one could not even see the stone hidden behind them. Books formed the bulk of the clutter. There were hundreds or perhaps thousands stuffed into this relatively small space, each of them worn and marked as if they had been thoroughly red, perhaps several times. There were also scrolls, tablets, and even clothing, none of which seemed to be unmarred by words. There may have been enough knowledge in that room to serve as an instructor itself, if only one had the know-how to navigate its messy interior.

The chairs were interesting as well. They were made of solid stone and connected to the floor. Upon further inspection, it wasn't so much that they were connected to the floor rather they were part of it, the stone rising up from the gray ground forming some simple seats.

Simple was the wrong word. They were ordinary as far as functionality, but the backs and frames of the chairs were beautifully carved with designs and a flow to them that Zel had seldom seen outside of professionally designed woodwork. It seemed that the chairs were a temporary fixture that Captain Ceres himself had put together and, not to be outdone by his younger sibling's ornate armor, he had added his own flare to some of his creations. Or perhaps it came naturally to him to do so.

Either way, what a convenient affinity for one working inside a mountain, Zel thought. She had moments in her life where she had been jealous of other's affinities, especially since hers was so destructive, but the Duphor family being able to craft something so complex with seemingly so little effort made those feelings come rushing back.

As the last of the students trickled in, Captain Ceres began his lecture.

"Welcome to my office," He began, "a bit cluttered, I know, but I like to keep Now let us jump right into it, as it were."

"This will be a bit different than all of your other classes, though that should be obvious." He continued, "honestly, it will be much closer to a club than a classroom. There is no curriculum, we will be working together and individually on each other's weaknesses. Whether or not you pass is up to how much you improve over the course of the year. I will help you along, of course, but magical flexibility is a lifelong pursuit, and you will be expected to keep up the things you learn here as you move forward in your career."

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"So, why don't we start off right there," Captain Ceres said, clapping his hands together. "Could somebody do the honors and explain what magical flexibility is?" He looked expectantly over the class of somewhat nervous students.

A young splitfolk man that Zel recognized from their other class raised his hand. He was the tall skinny boy with the wind affinity. Zel recalled him struggling during Captain Exelcia's test, so it made sense that he would be in the same class as them.

"Yes, Scoville," Captain Ceres said. "What do you think?

"Isn't it how we use our mana? How we use it in different ways?" Scoville said quietly, his voice trembling. Zel thought that her own anxiety was quiet difficult to manage with at times, but she felt bad for Scoville, who was practically shaking. She felt a sort of admiration of him that he was able to answer the question despite his fear.

"Not quite." Captain Ceres said with a smile. "That is part of it, but magical flexibility is much more complex than that." He knelt down as Zel had seen Cleinz do when he armed himself. Instead of armor and a spear, however, as the floor turned liquid in Captain Cere's palms, he pulled up a chunk of it and held it aloft as though it were lightless.

"Some people, like Scoville, think that magical flexibility is what you can do with your affinity," Captain Ceres explained, the ball of stone in his hand morphed and flowed as he spoke. "How you can shape it, how it looks on the outside." As he said this, the ball morphed into a sword that the Captain laid down in his hands.

"That is part of it, to be sure, but it is also so much more." He continued, "mana is like a muscle. It grows and gets bigger as we do, it also gets weaker as we do. Nobody's mana stays consistent throughout their life, just as nobody's body remains the same. It can grow stronger, weaker, more complex, or lose its flare. It is all up to us to decide what to do with it." As Captain Ceres spoke, the stone sword dissipated, taking various different shapes of weapons and other objects. It was an axe, a book, a fruit, a lamp, and it kept changing as he moved on.

"Our magical flexibility is our potential to use mana, our control of it, what we can do with the energy we have been given. Everyone in Tenyarn is gifted with mana, but very few of them get a chance to express themselves to their full potential." The stone returned to an amorphous blob that Captain Ceres set on his desk and stepped away. It began to move on its own creating a shape that Zel couldn't quite grasp.

"So few get a chance to see what magic truly has to offer us." Captain Ceres concluded as the blob suddenly sprung into shape. It had four legs and a mouth, eyes, and even ears. The stones on its back formed bristles of sharp hair and its newly formed jaw had two pointy tusks extruding out of it. The new stone creature turned towards the Captain and gave him an affectionate squeal. Zel couldn't help but sit there slack jawed with the other students at what she saw.

"Mana connects us to the world, and in turn the world connects with us." Captain Ceres explained, lifting his new companion in his arms. "We need only open our arms and let it in. I hope to teach you all to have a better understanding of mana and increase your connection to it. As a result, each of you will become more than what you are right now."

"Throughout this year, each of you will be given a chance to demonstrate to yourselves and everyone what kind of connection you have with mana." He continued, "it is a passion of mine, my highest passion, and this passion is something that I hope to instill in all of you. So let us begin learning. How are you going to pierce that bubble?"