Mage (ON HOLD)

Chapter 2-Elementalism

An hour later, the klaxon sounded, signalling the start of the second half of the day. With a wave of rustling, scraping chairs, and chatter, the students in the dining hall stood up and began to amble off to their various classes. I stood and, with an overly cheerful tone, said "Well, I guess it's time to go to classes!"

Shayna looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "What's with the peppiness?"

I tried to maintain my bright grin. "Oh, you know, it's such a nice day, and the day's half over, and we have classes! Yay!"

A slight smile quirked at her lips. "Barf."

I became sombre again. "Well, we still have to go, so...bye."

"Yeah. Bye."

And we separated, waving goodbye to each other as we left the hall. I was silent for a moment as I walked alone down the stone halls and up a set of stairs, but a slight smile soon appeared on my face again. Because my favourite class was coming up next; Elementalism.

...

"So, in order to best control the power of the Wind that you summon, you must be completely focused. No distractions, no wayward thoughts, no nothing. Wind can extremely dangerous, and although the ability that we are practising today is combative, I don't want to have to send anybody down to the infirmary. Especially you, Cedrik."

The teacher for Elementalism, who also happened to be the headmistress for the school, fixed Cedrik, who had a tendency towards violence, with a hard stare.

Cedrik bowed his head. "Yes, Kaline," he muttered.

 "Now, I want all of you to partner up and to practice what I just demonstrated." Pushing back her voluminous black sleeve, Kaline extended her hand and closed her eyes, concentrating. A moment later, a faint green aura flared to life around her hand and she made a slashing movement. A shockwave rippled through the musty air in the class, scattering a few heavy books and pushing at the robes of everybody in the class.

"You got that? Now, partner up and try to replicate the effects - without hurting anybody, of course."

With a wave of muttering and general sounds of movement, the entire class rose and started chattering as they tried to find their friends. I stood perfectly still; ever since That, five years ago, nobody had wanted to be my friend. It wasn't like they hated me or anything... Well, some did, but most of them just avoided me in the halls and classroom and such. The incident that had somehow become capitalized in my head also refused to be named. I just called it That, and That was the reason why everybody was a little scared of me. But I'll get to That later.

So, everybody had found their friends, and I went to work with Kaline, as usual. It wasn't nearly as bad as you would think; since Kaline brought me to the school, seventeen summers ago, when I was practically a baby, it was like training with a sort of mother. Not that Kaline could be my mother, of course. We look nothing alike, me with my longish honey-coloured hair, grey eyes, and narrow face, and her with her foreign features, vibrant green eyes and lush black hair that reached to her waist. Well, that and the fact that she wasn't even human.

Kaline was a member of the nearly extinct race called the Megara, a species that had the intellect and tenacity of the humans and the grace and power of cats. Kaline even resembled a cat to some degree; when she was angry or stressed, curved claws would sometimes extend from Kaline's fingertips and I had heard she even had a long, furry tail tucked under her robes. Her race had once dominated most of Araxia, living in harmony with the other lifeforms in the land, but as humans rose to power, they forced the Megara to the cold, icy north and they had all died of starvation or cold. Kaline was the only one left, since her parents had long since died and she had no siblings.

So, as I said earlier, I started training with Kaline. Leaning my staff carefully against the wall where it wouldn't interfere, I pushed back the red and gold sleeve of my robe and closed my eyes. In my head, I visualised exactly what I wanted to happen and how, imagining that the air was something solid, that could be pushed and moved. I slowly extended my left hand, keeping the visualisation in my head. I couldn't just imagine it happening, I had to will it to happen, believe fully that by moving my hand, I could move the air. When I felt absolutely sure that yes, I could control the air, I snapped open my eyes and swiped my slightly curved hand on a diagonal slant in front of me.

A gust swept from behind me, blowing my hair forwards and plucking at my robes with nimble fingers. It picked up speed right before it reached Kaline, slamming into her with at least twice the strength it had before. Kaline stumbled back a few steps, obviously winded. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she smiled up at me and nodded. "Good job!" Standing up straight, she dusted off her robes and pushed her hair back into a modicum of order. "Now, this time, I want you to actually put some form, some kind of shape, to the air. Make it as dangerous as you want; I'll be defending myself."

I took a quick glance around the class. Other people were struggling to create even a weak breeze, maybe a small puff of warm air. What seemed to come so easily to me was a struggle for everyone else, and I could see sevral people eyeing my enviously out of the corner of my eye. I shook my head; I should have been focussing on the Wind, not my classmates.

Settling into the same stance as before, my knees slightly bent and my left arm outstretched, I muted the sounds coming from the classroom and delved into the crannies of my mind, seeking perfect calm and silence. After a few seconds, all sounds and thoughts faded and I was somehow still thinking, but in an almost dreamlike way. I called up images that I had seen before, of more advanced student performing the same move that I was practising. I noticed how the air took on a translucent appearance, right before it struck the target, and added those qualities to the wind that I was building in my mind.

Shifting my hand slightly, I turned it upwards, my fingers curved like I was holding an imaginary sword hilt. I focussed on the images I had with all of my mental capacity, willing them to become real and solid in my hand. After a while, I took a risk and opened one eye to peek at my hand. They immediately flew open in surprise.

Resting in my hand was a barely-visible blade, about one arms-length long with a plain and simple hilt. I tightened my grip; even though it looked like it was made out of steam, the sword felt hard and sturdy in my hand. Kaline was looking at it with a self-satisfactory, almost smug expression. Testing it out, I took the blade in both hands and swung it at Kaline, who quickly threw up a defense of Earth magic. The blade dissipated on impact, but I still felt enormously proud that I had achieved making the Wind into something solid, something real.

Kaline walked over to my side. "Can I speak with you after class, please?"