Chapter 8: Magic 101
Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station
I’d hoped being a Mage would at least let me see Thomas again. Now he’s already gone. How could I know training would be only two years? Isn’t that way too short? I thought casting spells was complicated… Why are we even at an academy then?
The only reason I can think of is that we’re only learning the most basic stuff… Probably to keep us controlled – for our own safety of course…
It’s all guessing at the moment, but somehow, I’ve got the feeling that I’m right. We all have to wait and see…
Anyway, the following week isn’t that spectacular. I mostly enjoy my room, as there is no way that we have that much free time once the lessons start. Another big part of my time is spent exploring the station. It is so big! And I still haven’t been in the proper academy section at the top levels. Mostly I’m exploring together with Lucy, but the boys are also joining us more often than not. This makes me forget some of the negative thoughts about my situation, but not all of them. I’m still here against my will after all.
Luckily, Lucy and the boys are all nice people. They’ve known each other for a long time but they still accept me as I am. They really do care. Everyone genuinely explains a piece of new technology that I don’t know, and I think after this week I’m more or less up to date on those basic technological wonders.
During the week we also dive deeper into the RHT, where we notice communication software that enables us to call everyone on the station as long as we know their name and they haven’t blocked incoming calls. It is also possible to use the RHT in its rolled-up form to make calls without everyone else hearing it – just like a phone in those old movies.
Unfortunately, it is only an intra-station communication software. There is no possibility of making an outgoing call. Lucy is sad about not being able to call her boyfriend. At least she has her friends and twin brother with her – a fact that I confirmed after working up my courage to ask.
Now I know why Thomas wrote a letter… Sadly, he didn’t include the name of the person who sent the letter in the end. But I can’t hold it against him. Who would’ve thought that I was going to end up here too? It would have been handy though. I don’t even want to think about Thomas returning to Acordus 3 just to find me gone.
Anyway, our free week is now over and the first lesson – imaginatively called “Basics of Magic” – is about to start in an hour. Lucy and I both pick up our school uniforms, which were delivered a day earlier, and put them on. I instantly notice a stark difference. While her uniform consists of either a black skirt or black pants and a simple white shirt, mine comes with the same choice for the bottom part but has a five-centimeter broad purple line going from my left shoulder down to my left hip. It looks kinda nice, as it sets a colorful accent to the boring black-and-white pattern of Lucy’s uniform.
Is it because I tested as a Space Mage? It has to be as Simon too bears a purple line on his shirt when we meet up with the boys in a nice small café for breakfast on level 25.
“Ready for our first lesson?” Greg asks after we’ve finished eating. We nod in different levels of excitement. While Lucy and I are both looking forward to getting more information about what being a Mage entails, Simon and Jack both have a look of uncertainty in their eyes.
I decide not to ask, as I don’t want to disturb them further right before the lesson. If they want to talk, I can ask them afterward. We walk to one of the elevators and wait in a small line until we can get in. Apparently, even in a station so big, there are bottlenecks in the transportation system when around 500 people have to go to the same place. Finally able to catch an empty cart, we travel up to level 49 where the grand lecture hall is located. Actually, it’s located on levels 47 to 49, but the main entrance is at the top.
We walk inside and are greeted by line after line of desks and floating grav chairs. Each line is a bit further down, creating a good field of view for everyone. At the other end of the hall is a speaker’s desk with a big screen behind it, that currently shows the logo of the Estriduros Republic and the Mage Academy logo next to it.
Lots of people are already sitting at their desks with more entering the lecture hall every minute. It looks like more than 500 people already. Was my estimation wrong? I turn to Greg who is walking next to me. “Hey Greg, do you know how many first-year students there are?”
He thinks for a minute then replies. “Yeah, around 1600, I think. Why you’re asking?” My jaw drops to the floor. That is more than three times my estimation. How could I be so wrong?
“Err, I thought it would be around 500…” I whisper in a quiet voice. “I mean our ship traveled through a quarter of the republic and we were only a little over 100 people.”
That gets a short laugh out of Greg. “True, but our ship only traveled through the backwater systems. No offense. Our home system was an exception, as the ship was half empty when it finished with its five designated sectors. The Rangers at our testing center grumbled quite loudly about the fact that they had to do extra work in our system.” He shrugs and Lucy chimes in.
“Yeah, we’re from what you consider a core system and the first Mage collecting tour was there a week earlier, but had to leave after four of the six planets, as they were already full.”
Another world-shaking revelation that they casually threw in my direction. I just shake my head and we walk down an aisle till we find space for all of us about halfway down the lecture hall.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The hall gradually fills up in the next ten minutes. Punctually at 8:30 a.m. an older man enters the lecture hall through a backdoor and walks on the stage. I look around, except for a few empty seats, the hall is packed. The man walks to the speaker’s desk and clears his throat. A hidden microphone delivers the sound to the whole room and all conversations are quieting down. Everyone focuses on the man.
He wears a blue suit with a green tie. His grey hair is cropped short, and his look is completed by a three-day stubble beard. He noticeably doesn’t wear a collar. He is no Mage then! How can we learn magic without Mage instructors?
“Now that I have your attention, let me introduce myself. My name is Harold Brennan, I’m your instructor for today’s lecture.”
He walks to the middle of the stage before telling a little bit more about himself. Not that anyone wants to know where he is from. Everyone waits in anticipation for the actual topic of the lecture. Finally, he starts. With a wave of his hand toward the big screen, it changes. The screen now shows a triangle with three words written next to the tips. The top one is a purple SPACE, the bottom left shows UTILITY in green letters, and lastly, the bottom right reads A&D in orange.
“These are the three classes your magic can attune itself to.” He starts talking again. Suddenly, Space gets crossed out. “Actually, this information is not entirely correct, as only Utility or A&D can be taken by more than 95% of you. Space is a special class to which you only have access if you are born with it.” He pauses a moment, and I can see his gaze lingering on me and Simon before he quickly looks at the other people with a purple line on their shirts.
“As you now have undoubtedly noticed, there are several students here with a slightly different uniform. These are your fellow Space Mages. Once you have yourself attuned to one of the two classes, you will receive a uniform in the appropriate color. As you can see, Space Mages are the minority in the lecture hall, so I won’t bore you with Space magic-specific details. For the Space Mages here, you will have an introduction to Space magic tomorrow with a dedicated instructor.”
He walks back to the desk, and I take the momentary pause to look around me. There are a lot of people looking at me. Some look just curious, but there are also a few with envy in their gaze. They know probably more about Space Mages than I do. At least it can’t be too bad if there is envy, right? I also notice some people frantically typing notes in their RHTs. I should probably take some notes too. With a practiced movement, I unroll my tablet too. I’m ready just as the instructor continues to speak.
“Now leaving Space aside for a moment, there is one more thing I have to tell you before we dive deeper into power stages and the individual classes.” He pauses again to get everyone’s attention. These pauses are getting quite annoying. “Every person can only attune themselves to a single class. If you thought that you could combine Utility with A&D, I have to disappoint you. Once you cast your first spell out of a certain class, your magic core is attuned to the corresponding class and can never be changed!”
That gets a reaction out of the students. I can hear gasps from all around me and I too, stare at him in disbelief. This can’t be true, right? Before I can completely process this information, he continues. Now he skips his pauses? I groan internally.
“For those that don’t believe me, just wait. There will be a demonstration from two Mages at the end of the lecture. You can ask them your questions then. Again, for Space Mages this is different. Your core is already attuned to Space, which means you are already locked into your class.”
WHAT? I can’t cast any normal spells? This is ridiculous! How could there be people envious of me?
“Don’t worry. The republic finds a purpose for all of you, regardless of the class you possess after you graduate from the Academy.” The instructor continues before he drops the next bomb onto us. This one has half the students stand up in outrage.
“Following today's lecture, each of you will have your power tested. Then based on your power level, you will be assigned to one of the two classes according to the republic’s need for you.”
I too stand in outrage and scream my complaints even if it doesn’t affect me apparently. Where is the free choice? This finally eliminates the last strand of hope I had about those slavery rumors being just rumors. We simply are slaves of the republic… I have to find a way out of this damned nation!
The instructor just waves his hand, and we all are shocked by the collar. I feel that the only way for it to stop is to sit back down, so I do just that while grumbling.
How did I even feel that? Is this a thing for Space Mages? I have to ask Simon later. I look at him, he is still standing, clearly struggling with the shocks. “Simon, sit down and it will stop!” I call over to him. He shoots me a questioning look but complies, then relief can be seen on his face. He mouths a thank you before the instructor starts talking again.
“I will be blunt, otherwise I believe, some of you won’t get it. Your normal civilian lives ended when that testing orb lit up! You as Mages are now the property of the Estriduros Republic, which means that you have no choice but to comply with the rules!” Now he confirms it…
After another pause and everyone has sat back down, he waves his hand again and the screen changes to the header Power Levels.
“Now that you have a basic understanding, of what being a Mage means, let’s dive into the different power stages. There are four stages that will be relevant for you. Starting at the bottom, there is the Novice rank.” While he is talking the Rank appears on the screen, followed by the next rank directly above.
He completely ignores that he just called us slaves to the face and continues with his lessons like on a normal Tuesday… The hell? And it’s not even random stuff. He’s telling us important facts… Argh! I can’t miss this.
“The next rank is Junior. This is the most common rank a new Mage has in the beginning. Around 80% of you will be of Junior rank. The third rank is called Senior. Those of you who start as a Senior can be seen as prodigies and will get special attention and training, as you are probably going to join the military to protect our glorious republic from our enemies!”
That’s the rank Thomas has. No wonder he told me that he was going to join the military.
“And lastly there is the rank of Master. Most of you will never reach this rank. Only those of a high Senior rank can hope that they use their magic often enough to make their core dense enough to break through to Master rank. The second, even more, unlikely possibility for you to reach Master rank, is being completely dedicated to the republic so that they give you a power-enhancing artifact.”
The screen changes to another slide, which gives us a summary of what he just said. He completely ignores the last part with those artifact things. I quickly start copying it on my RHT. I think about adding my thoughts to the list, but then I think about just where we got those tablets from… Better to keep them in my head.
* Three magic classes: Space, Utility, and A&D
* Only one class per Mage – (I’m locked into Space magic. Is that really it, or are they withholding information? They probably are!)
* Four stages of power: Novice, Junior, Senior, Master – (there is probably more, he said “relevant for you”)
* Mages start at one of the first three ranks: Junior is common, Senior is rare
* Magic cores grow denser through use —> People can advance to a higher rank
* Power-enhancing artifacts? – (I have to find out more)
The lecturer continues. “We will now do a break of one hour, so you can have lunch and refresh yourselves. Afterward, we will meet back here and continue with the introduction of the two different magic classes.”
I glance at the others. “Let’s get some food.”
We have much to talk about!