Lecture Hall Two
The Academy
The students stood in the hallway outside of Lecture Hall Two, waiting for the large blue double doors to open. It was early Thursday morning and the gathered teens were sore, groggy, and anxious. Many of El’s classmates seemed to be moving slowly, favouring muscles that still complained even after a day’s rest. Their schedules had said to meet here for a class called “Will”. Approximately half of the class had changed into their black t-shirts and khaki shorts, several shifters had changed into their black unitards, and the rest of the students had stayed in their regular clothing. With a click the doors eased ajar, welcoming or daring them to enter.
“Oh, what fresh hell is this?” The speaker was a slim brunette with short-cropped hair. A quick glance at the expressions around her, including El’s, caused her to shake her head and sigh dramatically. “Uncivilized Philistines, am I the only one who reads here?”
A boy next to her, perhaps a teammate, punched her in the back. This caused most to step back from them, but several students closed, tense and ready to defend the small girl. They stopped when she giggled at the overly dramatic display of her “attacker” hopping back holding his hand to his chest and cursing.
As the door opened all the way, Sharon gave El a nudge toward the lecture hall. Inside it was an empty square room, four meters high and ten meters long on each side. Devoid of all furniture, the room was instead dominated by an intricate pattern of symbols carved into the floor and ceiling. El had to turn his gaze away. The runes seemed to move, a slight vibration or slither that was disorienting, causing him to feel nauseous if he stared at them too long.
“Ok, now what?” Sharon was standing next to El, in fact, she had pulled the members of her team close together in the center of the hall. “Be ready for anything.”
Once the last of the students had entered the room the blue doors gently closed and the world warped around them. Reality bent and moved sideways. El felt himself twisting, sensing that he would snap within seconds, and then bounce back to normal.
The students found themselves standing in a grand library the likes of which El had only seen in movies. High bookcases lined the two-story high walls and a replica of Michelangelo’s paintings from the Sistine Chapel adorned the domed ceiling. Glass and wood display cases held relics of a wide variety: the head of an old bronze spear, a gnarled wooden staff, and an intricate golden goblet were just three of the items contained. A large collection of comfortable stuffed chairs were gathered in a circle in the center of the chamber.
The door at the far end of the library banged open and a figure El recognized from television entered. Professor Eldritch had forgone his traditional garb of a long leather cloak and wide-brimmed Fedora, instead, he wore comfortable-looking khaki pants, a button-down shirt, and a cardigan. His red hair was curly, and unkempt hanging almost to his shoulders while his beard was relatively closely trimmed about his round face.
“Please be seated, ladies and gentlemen.” His voice was deep, with a touch of Scottish accent. The Professor claimed a particularly well-padded chair and settled his large body into it. “Welcome to your Will class, where we will meet Thursday mornings most weeks. Look around you.” He paused to let the students look at each other, some students still seemed entranced with the library around them. El noticed the girl who had spoken before the door opened seemed entranced with the books around her, he could see a definite flush to her neck and cheeks. “If you count you will notice that your class seems smaller. In fact, you began Monday with fifty-two members, and now are down to forty-nine. Two students chose to withdraw themselves from training and one was..asked to excuse himself. We have arranged other paths for these individuals to put their talents to good use. As you have no doubt gathered, being a hero is hard work. It is dangerous, and frightening, and will challenge you in ways profound and mundane. My primary work here will be helping you find the, well, willpower within yourselves to continue on.”
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The Professor paused, perhaps gathering his thoughts. El was not sure what the instructor’s thought processes were, besides beating the hell out of the students.
“Professor, a question if I may?” El recognized Phyllis’s voice as she spoke. The large man nodded permission. “Where are we? I could sense the room we entered had powerful enchantments upon it, but I did not recognize the sigils I am guessing you placed there.”
“That chamber, Lecture Hall Two as the bureaucrats like to call it, is simply a fixed portal. Those with permission are able to travel from there to here. The here? You are in my primary library in my home.”
Several students stood up in surprise as a truly tiny man, no more than a foot and a half high, with large ears and a loose set of robes appeared next to the Professor’s chair and handed him a steaming mug of tea. The minuscule man stood next to the chair, placing his hands on the armrest.
“Thank you Ailean. Relax people, he is a gnome. He and his clan live here with me. Keep them in a steady supply of beer and you have exceptional servants.” He bent down as the gnome whispered something to him and then turned to walk down the library’s length. “Westvleteren’s 12? Although they do have a taste for very expensive beer.”
“Worth it!” Ailean’s voice was light, high-pitched as he walked out the door letting it close behind him.
Professor Eldritch took a sip of his tea and sighed in appreciation. “Back to our subject: our time together. I will be helping you strengthen your mind, and your willpower, to assist in focusing your thoughts. I will be assisted in this task by Professor MacDonald, who is himself a powerful mentalist and will teach you to resist mental influence.”
“In addition, I will be meeting with each of you privately to broaden your skill set. Some of you have highly versatile powers, and some have power that is strong but limited in its scope. We will work together to add tricks to your arsenal.”
“When we meet as a group we will be analyzing the myriad of threats you will be faced with in the future. Forethought, planning, and knowledge are exceptional weapons ladies and gentlemen, do not forget that.” The relaxed expression on his face fell, turning serious with a dangerous burning in his gaze. “Before we begin, you must prove that you are worthy of my time!” He raised his fleshy arms high above his head.
El hurled himself off the chair, pulling the bear to the surface of his being. He landed with a loud thump and tensed himself. Next to him, Sharon had stood, shifting into her gargoyle form. Around them the rest of the students had reacted as well; all hastily prepared for the imminent attack.
The Professor fell back into his chair, laughing hysterically. “Oh, you really should have seen your faces. Sit, please,” he wiped a tear from his eye and tried to contain the laughter that caused his girth to convulse and roll. The students began returning to their seats, confused or angry expressions on many faces. The looks of consternation merely added to the fat man’s mirth.
“Ah sorry, I had to do that. I know what you have been through with the others the last few days, and I just could not help myself.” He took several deep breaths, wiping the last tears away from his rosy cheeks. “Instead we are going to begin with a bit of lesser-known history. Have you ever wondered where the first rifts came from? We know that rifts are connected to the use of nuclear weapons, and to a lesser extent nuclear power. What the general public does not know, and the first secret you are to learn as students here is the answer, where the very first rift was. Relax, you are in no danger.” He leaned forward, his eyes closed, and his fingers gently weaving a series of patterns in the air.
“Lean back and close your eyes, do not fight against what is happening. I am going to show you something.”
El, having changed back into a human, leaned his head back against the thick padding of the chair and closed his eyes. He felt a warmth upon his skin, heard the sound of birds calling to one another in unfamiliar patterns, and felt humidity in the air.
“Though our bodies and essences will remain safely behind in this place I am going to project us backwards in time. When you open your eyes we will be walking in the year 1908 in Tunguska Russia. We will be invisible and ethereal, unable to be seen, heard, or touched. We are observers here. We are here to see the actions of a man named Nicola Tesla.”