Elementals 2: The Stones of Power

Chapter 4-Group Project

Chapter 4

•Alex's P.O.V•

"Right, let's get started."

Professor Blaze stood at the front of the class, gazing upon each of us eagerly behind his thinly-rimmed glasses.

It was our first official day back at Arceus, our first day back in our classes to continue with our academics for the second half of the year. I looked around the class, finding nothing but expressions of excitement across the classroom. Haru and Lexie were especially exited. The professor snapped his fingers.

"Welcome back, students." He greeted us with a smile. "I hope you've all had a good midterm break. It truly is a pleasure seeing you all again."

He opened his hand, and the textbook that was on his desk appeared in a fiery burst, hovering an inch or two over his palm.

"But, as much as I'd like to hear all about your holidays and the various activities you did over the two weeks you've been away, we have quite a few things to cover this semester." He said, his tone slightly more serious. "First thing on the agenda; your group assignments."

"Group assignments?"

The class started to whisper among themselves in surprise and intrigue.

"What kind of assignments are you talking about, professor?" Lexie asked, her hand raised. The professor snapped his fingers again, and a scroll appeared on everyone's desks. I wasted no time opening my scroll and read the writing on it.

Except, there wasn't any...

Instead, all I found on the scroll was pictures. One of a clear glass orb, another with a bunch of tubes and vials and potions, and another with some sort of silvery dust. The final picture had a gem of some sorts, similar to the one Celest found yesterday. I stared in confusion.

"Uh...I'm confused. What exactly is our assignment?" I asked.

"Simple."

Professor Blaze snapped his fingers. The images on the scroll began to glow slightly. I stared in wonder as the pictures seemed to move out of the scroll and onto my desk.

"Can anyone tell me what a chromatic orb is?" The professor asked. Emily, Axel's twin sister, quickly raised her hand. Professor Blaze pointed to her. "Yes, Emily."

"It's an orb of compressed magical energy that was used by wizards in the early ages of magic, around the first five hundred years since elemental magic was discovered." Emily answered.

"I see someone's been paying attention in History." Professor Blaze complimented. Emily smiled in response. "And can anyone tell me what it was used for?"

Michael Low, one of the triplets in my class, picked his hand up eagerly. The professor motioned for him to answer.

"They're used as projectiles for spells." He answered confidently.

"That is correct." The professor said. "But it's not quite what I was looking for. Anyone else have a different answer?"

The class was silent for a bit, until Haru raised his hand.

"Weren't they used by mages before elemental magic was discovered as a way to concentrate on their spells? Like some sort of arcane focus?"

"Close, but still not the answer I want."

The class went silent once more as the students whispered amongst each other. Then, to everyone's surprise, Axel raised his hand.

"Yes, Axel." The professor pointed to him.