Red Mountain Chronicles: The Illusionist

Chapter 15

"Welcome back to Spell Exploration. The past few days we talked about how magic can be useful as well as how to use it appropriately in certain situations. We have also started to discuss how certain techniques were developed. Today, we are going to talk about why certain types of specialized magic exist."
Out of all my years of school I do not remember ever hating a class. At least not as strongly as this one. It was not that the class was boring, but it was one of the most foreign as well as the least interesting subject out of my entire schedule. Not only that, but I also sat by myself, since Mary did not have the same class on the same period with me. When I was in this class, she had Charms and vice versa.
So here I was, sitting by myself in a classroom with no familiar faces, learning what I thought was a relatively insignificant subject. It was not like I have not been in a class without my friends before, but being stuck in a foreign place makes one appreciate having a friend with them.
"Can someone help me list a few wields that exist?" Asked Professor Holtz.
A few people raised their hand. He had to stand on a pedestal so he could be easily seen. It was fair to say Professor Holtz was not the tallest person here. He pointed at a boy, who began the list. "Fire."
"Good." Professor Holtz replied. "Anyone want to list another?"
Again, only a few raised their hand. Only a few people ever participated because a majority of the class seemed indifferent about participating. He picked a different person this time.
"Water."
"Good." Professor Holtz replied. This continued for a while, until he decided to move on.
"Now, these are all of the common found wields. There are more out there, but they are not very common. Can anyone tell me why these wields are more common than others?" A few people raised their hand. He picked on a girl in the front.
"Evolution?" She answered.
"Not exactly, you're on the right track. It is true we developed specialized magic to better adapt to our environment. But why are some wields more common than others?"
"Because they're actually useful?" somebody said. I turned around to find out that it was none other than the Brown Haired moron.
Why am I not surprised! I rolled my eyes.
Professor Holtz glared at him, unamused. "I didn't ask for smart mouthed remarks, Mr. Keyne." He then continued the lesson. "Anyone else?" He then picked on a girl on the other side of the room.
"It's multiple things. The reason why the population of mages with these wields are so big have to deal with how long they have been around. However, this is not always the case. Some early wields have declined or even disappeared. This is because over time they may have outgrown their usefulness. These wields are common because they are still seen as a necessity today."
"Very well put!" Professor Holtz exclaimed proudly.
"But that's not always the case," the girl continued.
"Go on," Professor Holtz insisted.
"Some wields we're wiped out or became unpopular due to other reasons besides natural selection. Some have been killed off due to persecution as well."
"That is very true, young lady! Now, moving on from that, since there are specific wields that many mages have, some sorcerers have written down their discoveries that are on the subject of certain wields. These discoveries are published in the form of spell books. These documents were copied and distributed for the use of other mages. Luckily for us, we have many of these books in our possession and are stored in our library. Next week, we will be going there for you to pick out a book of your wield, which you will analyze the spells, practice them, and write about the book. We will discuss more about this assignment on Monday. You are dismissed, have a good weekend." Professor Holtz then left the lecture hall.
Everyone began to pack up and head to their next class. As I stood up, the Brown Haired moron, or should I say Mr. Keyne, walked up to me. "Good luck trying to find a book," he smirked.
I crouched down to grab my bag and began packing up. "What do you mean?" I asked. I was not particularly interested in what he had to say, but I wanted to hear his ridiculous comeback. "Are you afraid that a poor girl like me is illiterate? I'm touched."
"No. But the spells in these books are meant to be practiced."
"What's your point?"
He went on, not answering my question. "They're written by real mages."
I ignored him. He continued.
"I just feel bad for you since it'll probably be too hard for your Scrapper brain to understand." He sulked mockingly.
I kept ignoring him, and grabbed my textbook, which he slapped out of my hand. It landed on the floor. "Oops."
I contained my anger and bent down to pick up my textbook, which he kicked out of reach.
   "Now tell me," he began. I stood up, and looked at him square in the eye. "How can a witch who does everything with her hands, supposed to learn magic?"
I broke eye contact and tried to walk past him to grab my book, but he blocked my way. I could feel his eyes on me, scrutinizing me.
"Once a savage, always a savage."
In my world, this was not an insult. But I knew what he meant.
I shoved him out of the way to get my book. He let me.
"I'm just speaking the truth! You'll always be a Scrapper. None of this will ever make sense to you. So why even try?" He walked toward the door. "Good luck finding a book on your wield. You're gonna need it if you don't wanna die first." He then walked out the room, leaving the door wide open.
I stood there for a while as I waited until his footsteps were far away. I then grabbed my bag from my seat and walked out.