Chapter 5: The Exam

The first student who was up was the tall and handsome Splitfolk man from the Fancy Splitfolk group. Captain Crans awaited eagerly, a look of pure glee on his face as his hands grasped at nothing in anticipation

"Your name and affinity, please." Captain Skylee requested as the Captain and the prospect squared off.

"My name is Cleinz Duphor, of the Duphor house" he exclaimed, "My affinity is with stone! A Duphor family specialty!" Cleinz's chin was held up high, and proud. He did not sound nearly as attractive as he looked, coming off arrogant to Zel. He also seemed to favor one of the captains. Zel caught Cleinz stealing glances at the tall Splitfolk captain as he spoke.

However the captain did not share the same enthusiasm, simply observing Cleinz with cold, silvery eyes. Cleinz' arrogant facade was ever so slightly cracked by this indifference, the edges of his smile sunk. He turned away from the Splitfolk Captain, his expression serious as he focused on the target before him.

"Rightio, hit me with watcha got then!" Captain Crans was greedily grasping at the air with his fingers in anticipation.

Cleinz did not seem nearly as excited as his opponent. To Zel he seemed almost annoyed with the man before him who was nonchalantly anticipating Cleinz' attack.

Zel had met people with the stone affinity before, there were some locals in her town that ran businesses building and repairing homes with their stone magic, but she had certainly never seen someone with that affinity fight before. She was curious as to what it would look like and closely observed Cleinz as he went down to one knee before placing both of his palms on the floor. Then Zel had the chance to witness something amazing.

After firmly placing his hands on the floor Cleinz stood back up, but the floor came with him. The strange translucent stone of the room flowed up his arms and from beneath his feet as he rose, moving like liquid. Wherever it touched on Cleinz body it began to solidify back into a solid structure and around Cleinz body started to take specific shapes. His feet became encased in boots of stone, his legs and torso covered in thick plate armor and rivers of stone formed a helmet around his head.

But that was not all. Cleinz raised his hands out in front of them as the stone gushed from the floor into them, each taking a different form in his palms. From the left hand sprung a large and rounded shield that Cleinz held aloft effortlessly, despite the weight of the stone. In his right, a stream of stone formed into a long shaft and blade, a spear taller than Cleinz was taking form.

Zel was stunned, practically slack-jawed as she observed this display. Every preconception that she had about stone magic was dashed in an instant. The Slipton stonemasons were able to change the form of rock, transforming jagged stone into more useful shapes over time, but Cleinz magic was on a different level. His speed and skill was unbelievable, able to create in moments what professional stonemasons would take weeks to form, and that couldn't have been of remotely similar quality. Cleinz equipment even had ornate designs across it as if it were a suit of armor intended for display. He stood there and seemed out of place, more fit as a guard for royalty than as a candidate for an Academy.

Most of the other students in the line were equally impressed as Zel, except for the students of the Fancy Splitfolk group. Instead of looks of surprise or shock, they wore smug grins and knowing looks. Clearly, this was nothing special for Cleinz.

But now the showboating was over, and Cleinz wasted no time. He charged forward with his new equipment, moving as swiftly as if the stone was no burden to him at all. He reached Captain Crans quickly and as he came in range he gave his spear a powerful thrust aimed right at the Captain's torso.

Zel found herself wince as the point almost made contact, but right as the spear would have connected Captain Crans moved to the side and out of harm's way.

The motion was so quick and smooth that even Cleinz was surprised. Instead of finding his spear embedded in his victim his weapon met no resistance. He stumbled forward slightly, unable to correct for the strange sensation. Captain Crans, however, used his long legs to quickly close the remaining gap between them. He was now towering over Cleinz

"Here, let me give you a hug." Captain Crans said with a devious smile. His long arms wrapped around Cleinz in an instant and lifted him into the air. He held him there for a moment as Cleinz' spear and shield hung uselessly in the air beneath him.

"Ha ha!" Crans laughed, "You're a Duphor, alright. Your family's stone magic is always a wonder to see! Though I have a feelin' big bro over there might have a thing or two to say about your form!" Captain Crans nodded at the handsome Splitfok Captain. He was too far away to know for sure, but Zel could have sworn she saw the other Captain smirk.

Cleinz was not happy, however. Suspended in the air without being able to do anything about it frustrated him, a sour expression on his face.

"Good job, little Duphor," Captain Crans said as he set Cleinz down gently as a baby. "A fine demonstration if there ever were one! Go ahead and get back in line."

As Cleinz 'feet returned to the ground, so did his armor return to the floor, melting away from him just as smoothly as it had come. Captain Crans gave him a slap on the back as he turned away that was so hard it might have knocked him over, but Cleinz managed to stay on his feet. He said nothing as he lined back up on the wall, but his quiet demeanor was betrayed by his body language and flat expression. He was quite upset.

It's no wonder, Zel thought, this is probably the first time someone like him has ever been made a fool of. Even if it is a Captain, it has to hurt.

That didn't sully Zel's wonder at the display, though. The skill that Cleinz displayed with his magic wasn't something that Zel had ever encountered before, she barely even knew that mana users that powerful existed in the first place. It made her feel almost inadequate to be standing in the same pool of candidates as that man. She did her best to distract herself from the thought as other students took their turn at the examination.

It became immediately apparent with the next students who were selected that Cleinz was something of an outlier, much to Zel's relief. There were a variety of different skill levels present and the captains showed no sign of preference for the students who seemed more advanced than the others, they were genuinely judging all of the prospects as equals as long as they were able to show off their affinities.

Captain Crans, however, seemed to be a very unusual mana user. With Cleinz he had demonstrated his skill in combat without the use of magic because Cleinz' use of his affinity was more physical in nature, but as other students came up and used different affinities it quickly became clear the gap between Captain Crans and the rest of them.

Zel was certain that for the more intangible affinities that the captain would be forced to show off some of his own magical talent, but it never happened. A beautiful Splitfolk woman with white hair went up for her turn and announced that she had an affinity with fire. She let loose a dazzling display of flames and spark where the captain stood so that he was entirely engulfed, only to appear moments later, entirely unharmed and without even a mark on his clothes.

Miriya and Zel were whispering quietly trying to figure out the trick to it when the Clickfolk began going up. The first among them Zel recognized. It was the large Clickfolk who had slapped her hand away earlier. She was still upset about that, but willing to set it aside to see what kind of magic they used.

"Please state your name and affinity," Captain Skylee repeated at their approach. The Clickfolk responded in Clicktongue. She gave a curt nod.

"A water affinity. Understood, please give it your best." Captain Skylee jotted down some notes on her clipboard as the big Clickfolk took his position opposite of Captain Crans.

Like Cleinz, this Clickfolk wasted no time, but had a much different method of attack. They held out all four of their hands in front of them, creating a box with their chitinous fingers. Once in this position a small droplet of water appeared in their hands and it began growing in size. As the ball grew, Zel found herself wondering if the Clickfolk would hurl it at the captain, or if perhaps they had some other plan. She did not have to wonder long as a sharp screeching began to emanate from the liquid, causing everyone in the room to cover their ears. Then, as if heralded by the noise, a jet of water shot out in a beam towards the Captain, moving too fast to even see.

Where Captain Crans had been standing burst into mist, dust, and stone as the very ground they stood on crumbled under the stream of liquid. The barrage continued for several seconds before the Clickfolk put their hands down and the water ceased. Zel watch in anticipation as the dust began to settle on the other side, sure that this time Captain Crans would have either played his hand or been seriously hurt.

But to her surprise, he stood exactly where he had been before, unbothered even by the particulates of stone that rained down upon him from the blast.

"That was mighty interestin'!" He exclaimed, "I can't remember the last time I saw that technique up close, an excellent rendition if I do say so myself."

The large Clickfolk quietly returned to the line even as Captain Cranssung his praises. Zel didn't know how to read the Clickfolk's emotions, but if she had to guess she thought the Clickfolk looked satisfied. Then, it was finally time for a familiar face to take the exam.

Jammy stepped away from the wall and got into position. Zel was very excited to see what her new friend's affinity was and how she used it.

"Your name and affinity, please." She said.

Jammy responded with the series of sounds that Zel recognized as her name, followed by some others that she did not understand.

"A plant affinity, unusual," Captain Skylee said. "Understood. Please give us a demonstration of your offensive ability on the target." She gestured casually to Captain Crans who was casually picking something from beneath his nails.

Jammy nodded. She reached into her cloak and produced a small leather bag. She poured out its contents from one hand on her right to the other, revealing an assortment of small seeds. Then she scattered the seeds out on the floor between her and Captain Crans before putting the bag away and holding out all of her hands. With the movement of her limbs the seeds responded in turn, and suddenly the floor of the great hall was alight with activity.

The seeds jumped and shook as if they were boiling. An explosion of color burst from them as the seeds opened up and grew into fully matured plants in an instant, but even then they did not stop. They continued to grow until there was a towering mass of plant life that nearly reached the ceiling.

Jammy gave a flick of her wrists and the mass came tumbling down towards Captain Crans. With a thundering boom they smashed into the stone floor, shaking the ground beneath everyone. But, just like the times before, Captain Crans was completely unharmed and unbothered, standing next to the pillar of plantlife almost as if it hadn't nearly flattened him against the stone. He even leaned on it as if it were a wall that had always been there.

Although Zel found it difficult to read the emotions of her new friend, Jammy was emitting a low buzz which Zel suspected was an indicator that she was a bit upset. Jammy used all of her four hands to make a scooping motion up towards her head, and the vines moved in turn. However, Jammy failed to make the vines move where Crans was leaning, instead the ends floundered around harmlessly , unable to follow her wishes.

"Sorry to say that you seem like you're at a bit of a disadvantage compared to some other students here, my friend." Captain Crans said, "There ain't nothin' for your plants to take root in down here, makes it a bit harder for you. A bit nicer for me, though." He hopped onto the bulk of the vines and laid down on them as if they were a hammock, his smug grin visible beneath the shadow of his hat.

Jammy let out an exasperated buzz and snapped her fingers. The vines rapidly detracted, leaving Crans suspended in the air for a moment before he skillfully whipped his weight around and landed on his feet.

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"Well, you're no fun at all!" He said, the taunting smile clearly visible now.

The trials continued as the number of students was slowly dwindling, inevitably getting closer to Zel and Miriya's own turns. Zel was excited, but her excitement was overshadowed by a growing sense of dread.

She had realized something as she watched the other students, something that made her more nervous than ever before. Cleinz was pompous but clearly amazingly skilled, Jammy was incredible too, Zel had no idea that there were plant magicians that could work with seeds alone, she had only ever seen that kind of magic work on larger plants. And they were far from the only amazing students there. As hard as she tried, Zel found it impossible to shake the feeling that she wasn't good enough, that she didn't belong here.

But what made her the most nervous was Captain Crans. During every student's trial up to this point he had not made use of his own magic even once. Even students who had dangerously fast magics like the large Clickfolk were unable to even touch him before he thoroughly embarrassed them by either putting them into the floor or disabling their efforts as he had done with both Cleinz and Jammy. He was a pompous ass, incredibly insensitive, and absolutely unbelievable to watch.

Perhaps she could imagine herself standing next to the other candidates, perhaps even as a student of Dream Academy, but she couldn't imagine becoming as strong as someone like Captain Crans, his very presence felt daunting to her. He inspired in her a fear that she had never felt before, something innate like her body knew that what she was seeing was in some way unnatural. But she also had another feeling, a strange one that she didn't recognize.

Zel hadn't noticed, but she had actually started shaking while watching the students go up. She stopped when she felt a comforting hand over her shoulder and found herself trapped in Miriya's embrace

"Don't worry. You'll do great. Let me go first so I can get him warmed up for ya'!" She said with a bright smile.

Zel sniffled but managed to regain her composure.

"You're right, go out there and give him the business!" Zel said. Her sister always knew how to cheer her up, and it wasn't long until she felt fully rejuvenated once more.

Soon enough, it was Miriya's turn, and she walked forward to her spot standing tall and her tail straight. She looked as prepared as Zel had ever seen her.

"Name and affinity, please." Captain Skylee repeated once more.

"My name is Miriya, and my affinity is time!" Miriya responded enthusiastically.

This announcement made the crowd go silent briefly, but it wasn't long until whispering sprung up once more. This time, however, it wasn't random chatter and gossip, but discussions about what they had all just heard. Miriya was the most confused of all, however, and she turned towards the captain with her head cocked, a puzzled expression painted on her face.

"Are you sure that you have a time affinity?" Captain Skylee asked Miriya, "If so, that is extremely unusual. It's a rather rare affinity."

"I'm pretty sure, but why don't I show you?" Miriya said, pulling out her slingshot from her back pocket and holding it out playfully.

"Yeah, why don't you show me." Crans said. He suddenly appeared towering directly over Miriya, startling her and making her jump away. No one had noticed him move during the conversation, but he had crept across the room in anticipation as soon as Miriya announced what her affinity was. He was licking his lips and looked as though he were almost drooling with excitement. Maybe the strange sensations of fear that Zel felt were not so unfounded.

"Sorry," he said, holding up a hand and taking a few steps back. "You like ranged weaponry? I'll get in your range then." He continued walking backwards and facing Miriya until he clumsily collided with the far wall.

"That ought to be far enough for that little thing. Show me whatcha got!" he said. He stuck out his chin and put one finger to his cheek as if to say 'aim here.'

"Alright, here it goes!" Miriya shouted. She took a pellet out from her pouch she wore on her belt and pulled it back in the band of the slingshot.

Once she was satisfied with her aim, she let the shot rip.

The hall again shook violently as an incredible thunderclap of noise echoed throughout the hall. The pellet had blasted across the room in an instant and burst the stone wall that it came into contact with just as quickly, a violent rain of glowing rock flew out in the room with such force that some of the shrapnel managed to reach the students and other captains.

Looking at the cloud of dust, none of the students were hopeful. This was the one, surely this was the attack out of all of them that actually managed to harm the captain, many of them even feared the worst as the cloud finally calmed down.

It was almost just as shocking as Miriya's attack to see that, once again, the Captain was entirely unharmed. He was crouched down next to the massive hole in the wall a glimmer in his eye as he looked back and forth between the crater and Miriya. He let out a long whistle.

"Girl, that is what I am talkin' about," he said, turning towards Miriya, "That's the kind of thing that I like to see!" He pointed to the shattered wall as he spoke. Never had Zel heard someone so excited by something that could certainly have killed them.

"If I had my way, you'd be in right now!" Captain Crans continued. "Unfortunately we got that one more exam, but forget that one anyway. You're in!"

Miriya, who was still a bit surprised at her own strength, didn't know how to respond to what the Captain had been saying.

"R-really?" she managed to stutter out.

"I ain't the final judge," Captain Crans said, "But I ain't letting these fools let you get away." He gestured with a single thumb to the other Captains who were still calmly observing. "Welcome to Dream Academy, Miriya."

The line of students erupted with applause at this announcement. Zel, who had been slack jawed like many of the other students, was jumping up and down with her arms raised, cheering on her best friend and sister. Even though they were still all competing with one another, it felt as though for a moment all of them had gotten to witness something amazing.

Miriya herself was very flustered and covered her face with both her hands before quickly returning to the line where Zel met her with a big hug.

"Alright, that's quite enough you guys. We still have a few more people to get through and a whole other test for everyone. Let's keep it moving. You over there, you're up next!" Captain Skylee shouted, pointing at Zel.

"Oh shit, here we go." Zel whispered to herself, her excitement for her sister immediately quashed. Miriya gave her two thumbs up as Zel moved over to her position.

"Say, are you friends with that lass over there?" Crans asked her from across the room as she reached the appropriate spot.

"Yeah! That's my sister!" She proudly exclaimed.

"That's what we like to hear!" Captain Crans exclaimed. "You got quite the act to follow."

"Name and affinity, please." Captain Skylee's voice rung out from behind Zel.

"Z-Zel. My name is Zel, and my affinity is lightning." Zel stuttered out.

"Alright Zel, please feel free to begin whenever you are ready." Captain Skylee said.

Captain Crans stood across from Zel, the same stupid grin on his face as before. If anything it was even bigger than it had been now that he had found a student that he really liked. Now that she was face to face with him, Zel felt the odd sense of fear creep back into her heart. She felt herself begin to shake again.

She didn't understand it. Whenever she looked at him it felt like there was something wrong with him. It wasn't just his looks or his skill, but something deeper than that. It made Zel's head fill with thoughts that overwhelmed her.

She wasn't like her sister. She had never used her magic to hurt something else, she had always been afraid to do so. When she was young and didn't know what her affinity was yet Zel had nearly burned down their family home when she awoke violently one night, sparks flying off of her. She had been terrified of her mana for years after that, and had never considered trying to hurt someone with it.

Despite that, she had wanted to become a student of Dream Academy for a long time, almost as long as she could remember, even longer than she had known her affinity. She thought that maybe as she grew older she would learn to not worry about it, or maybe she would get used to it. She never had. But now she had to.

She couldn't get the thoughts that plagued her out of her head, the presence of the captain seemed to compound the doubts that she felt as she stared down someone she knew was far stronger than she ever could be. She turned her head away from him and by chance saw Miriya on the wall.

Miriya pointed at Zel, then at herself. She took a deep breath, lifting her whole body up and puffing out her cheeks with how much air she took in before letting it all out slowly and giving Zel another thumbs up.

Zel couldn't help but smile. She looked back at her hands and took a big breath as well, and when she was done the shaking had stopped. She could do this.

I just need it to reach him, she thought, just once. Zel closed her eyes.

She held out her arms in front of her and imagined in her mind. She imagined them welling up with mana, filling her body with lightning from within. She could feel the scales and hairs on her arms tingle and spark, the air around them growing volatile as she focused. The sensation continued to grow until the rest of the students in the room witnessed as Zel's arms began to glow brighter than the room around them, an eerie hue of blue that matched her own skill.

Zel felt the tingling and crackling of the electricity from within her skin. It was something that she knew well, better than almost anything in the world, and, as her eyes slowly opened, she let it all go.

A bolt of lightning arced from the tips of her fingers, lancing across the room towards Captain Crans. It violently surged forth in an instant, but right before it reached its target the lightning veered off, crashing into the wall up and to the right of Captain Crans. Zel stared at the black mark as if she were surprised it were there. Zel's arms were still charged and tingling, eager to loose another bolt.

"Interesting…" Captain Crans said, while scratching his chin. "Alright, Missy, hit me again."

"O-okay." Zel said. She closed her eyes and imagined the sensation once again. When she felt it peak once more she loosed another bolt with the same intensity as the last. Once again the lighting rapidly arced towards Crans before violently veering off, this time crashing into the ground to the left of Captain Crans' feet.

"Seems like you might have a control issue. That's okay, we can work out the kinks. Hit me again." Captain Crans said with a shrug. "But before we can do that, I need you to hit me, Zel." Captain Crans began to move towards her with the speed and intensity of someone on an evening stroll.

Zel could feel the fear mounting again.

She released another bolt that veered wildly off course.

"Again."

Another, this time flying into the ceiling.

"Again." His voice changed again. Zel shot off another that went wild.

"Again." He kept getting closer. Zel missed another.

"Again." Zel was terrified.

No matter how many times she let the lightning flow from her fingertips, no matter how many steps Captain Crans got closer, she couldn't hit him. It continued until he was standing directly over her. She was nowhere near as tall as Cleinz who was still dwarfed by the captain, Zel felt microscopic as he towered over her.

"You said your name was Zel?" he asked.

"Y-yeah, that's right." Zel responded.

"You have a lightning affinity?"

"I… lightning… lightning is my affinity…" Zel said nervously, Captain Crans did not seem to want to wait around to hear her answer.

"You do know that you need to hit me to pass this exam, right?" The captain waited expectantly for her answer.

"I-... I don't…" Zel struggled to speak.

Crans grabbed Zel's arms and held them up. Zel, startled, began to withdraw her mana from her arms.

"Hit. Me." Captain Crans didn't sound the same anymore. There was something wrong. He sounded distant and loud, but the words that he spoke echoed throughout Zel's head.

Hit me. Hit me. Hit me.

Zel pulled her mana all the way into herself, hiding it away in her body. She completely withdrew into herself and struggled to escape from the captain's grip. She pulled her mana tight into a ball within her, determined to not let it out. She squeezed it and squeezed it

Crans sighed and let go of Zel's arms, causing her to fall to the ground. He turned away from her and began to walk away.

"Miracle, we have our first dropout," he announced.

But Zel couldn't hear him. She was somewhere else.

She didn't know where she was, but she knew the place. She was in a hole somewhere. It was deep and dark. But there was light somewhere far above. Three bright lights and a gentle one. One was red, one was yellow, and one was blue. The gentle one was the lightest of purples. But that was far away. Too far for Zel.

She wasn't alone in the hole. There was something else. It was small and odd, not fit for, well, anything really. It was also lonely in the hole. It had no friends to keep it company.It wasn't long until it noticed Zel.

When it became aware of her it was so happy. It told her things. It told her that she and her were the same. It was alone and she was alone. Zel tried to tell it that she wasn't alone, but it wouldn't listen.

It told Zel that it knew her. It had known her for a long time, but never knew how to talk to her. It told her that she was special, that she was different. Zel didn't believe it, but it didn't mind. It knew better.

The final thing that it said was how happy it was to see her. It was so happy, and Zel felt happy too.

She felt happy and warm.

Zel leapt up from the floor and latched her hands around one of Captain Crans' arms. A scream escaped her lips, but she couldn't hear it. She wasn't somewhere else anymore, but she wasn't all there either. Her grip tightened around the captain's arms as a torrent of mana welled up from within her, everything she had pouring out of her all at once.

The room was filled with a blinding light and nobody could see what was happening, but when the light faded away all of the students could see Captain Crans with Zel still on his arm, both of them with wild smiles on their faces.

"D-did I hit you, sir?" Zel asked. She felt dizzy and confused. She could hardly speak.

"You sure did, Zel. Welcome to my world." Crans responded, the terrible smile on his face growing even wider. Zel wasn't afraid of it anymore.