novelzi Ch 1.11: Class
Ch 1.11: Class
Ch 1.11: Class
“So, you’ve come to the academy of Endrin, in hopes that you will serve well the nation of Endrin.” The teacher for Elaina’s first ever class at Endrin, Practical Aspect Applications, was a gruff woman that looked to be in her fifties, pacing across the ground, arms locked behind a stiffly straight back. She had a strong, angular face, and gray hair speckled with strands of black that cropped short and slicked back. “I was once Commander Calivahn, but you may call me Madame Calivahn.”
Every first year seemed to have met for this class, packed into the sand field that served as the academy’s training ground. It was Elaina’s only class for the day, and set to last two hours, which didn’t quite add up to her, but she couldn’t complain about her first class being outside on a nice, crisp spring morning. “Now,” Calivahn continued. “You may be wondering why there’s so many of you here with one lonely teacher, how I can teach so many of you. Well, I can’t. Different aspects and different students require different teaching methodologies, so today some of the second-years are going to help me sort you lot into smaller lots that will actually be manageable.”
Three students walked out from behind the crowd of first years. Elaina couldn’t believe it, but she recognized each of them. Two were the student watch members she’d managed to sneak past only two nights prior, and the last one was the one she didn’t manage to sneak past, the student watch captain herself, Tira, leading the other two with a smirk, glancing across the first years as if they were her prey.
“First, you’ll separate into three groups so we can evaluate you. To my right, those of you with external aspects, my middle, internal aspects, and on the left I want the worldly aspects. If you don’t know which you are, see one of my aides.” External, internal, and worldly. Elaina’s was classified as an environmental targeting aspect, by the System at least. She guessed it wasn’t an internal aspect, since she had the ability to augment it to self targeting, but she wasn’t sure if it would be considered worldly or external.
She looked at the movement of the other students, curious about how the groups would be lining up. The middle section, internal aspects, was by far the largest group, with the other smaller sections flanking it. Most of the students moved with purpose, and why wouldn’t they? The vast majority of them had been illegally practicing for months to a year. Still, some small number approached the student watch members that had been enlisted as teacher's aides, and Elaina decided to join in.
Most of the unsure students were going to the male watch member in front of the middle group. Elaina didn’t want to crowd him any more, so she walked over to the aide on her right currently wrangling those who had worldly aspects, Tira.
“Alright freshers, if you’re a manifester, on the field. Sole manipulators, off to the side. Those still unsure, see me.” The natural authority in Tira’s voice moved the students along, forming two files of about fifteen students each. By the time Elaina got to Tira she was just finishing up sending off two students to their place. When she saw Elaina, Tira smiled and reached out to mess with her hair.
“Well now, do we get to play together, or are you just coming to say 'hi?'’”
Elaina backed away, blushing at the contact. “I’m not sure where I’m supposed to be, exactly. I don’t think I’m self targeting, err, internal targeting, but I don’t know exactly where I do fit either.”
“Oh, that’s easy. Have you had a chance to mess around with your aspect yet?”
“A little.” It was the truth. Elaina may have had her aspect for a day longer than most people thought she had, but she still had far less experience than probably anyone else in the school.
“What’s it do?”
“I can create rope. Rope and chains.”
“Alright, you’re definitely worldly Aspected then. You just create, or can you move them too?”
“I can move them, yeah.”
“Sweet!” Tira clapped as she beamed. “You’re a manifester-manipulator. I can only manipulate myself, actually. Go ahead and get in line on the field for now; I’ll get to you in order.”
“Yes ma’am.” Elaina winced as she said it, but Tira just laughed. She didn’t know why she felt the need to address her like that.
As she turned back to the end of the line Elaina got a glimpse of the far group from her, the similarly small external Aspected, and the person in front of its file, Waine Ferris. At least I don’t have to be paired up with him. She still had business with him, what with him about to be selling near nude pictures of her to the entire school, but if she was about to spend the rest of her school life in class with a group, she’d prefer him not be in it.
The rest of Waine’s crowd were similarly absent from Elaina’s group, save one. Prisma was in the middle of the line of students on the field, chatting away with those around her with a smile on her face, not a care in the world. As Elaina walked by their eyes locked, and Prisma’s face fell into a frown. She really does hate me...
Elaina continued to the back of the line. She watched as the group of students in front were tested according to Tira’s instruction. Manifesters, this group was called. Some would also be manipulators apparently, and those that were only manipulators waited off to the sides.
It didn’t take long to grasp the terminology. Everyone in front of Elaina, the manifesters, could create something from nothing, at least temporarily, and those who could also control what they created were also manipulators. Elaina really should have been paying attention during her class’s Awakening— she knew that— but as it stood this was her first chance to find out about the aspects of her classmates.
Most seemed... Generic? Underwhelming? Elaina realized hers kind of was as well, now that she thought about it. Endrin students were supposed to be like the Stormshines, commanding thunder and lightning, leveling armies. In this group, sure, there was a guy that could create a sword, a girl that could conjure and shoot a crossbow bolt from her hands. Those were impossible feats, fantastical, but still so mundane compared to the stories.
Prisma walked up. “Alright, fresher,” Tira said. “Show me.” Prisma closed her eyes and took one deep breath, simply standing there. She seemed nervous, and Elaina began to sweat, both from anticipation and the humidity. Does she have stage fright? The entire field of students watched Prisma, each of them sweating in the scorching field. Elaina herself was almost drenched now, the sweltering air of the... The sweltering air of the early morning? In the first week of spring?
“Heat,” Prisma said, waving her arm in an arc towards the sky, a plume of fire erupting from her hand as she did, a flame magnitudes larger than the bonfires that would grace Elaina’s village on the winter solstice, an inferno that would have engulfed numerous of her classmates if it were directed anywhere but straight up, still threatening to engulf those standing near Prisma even as she directed it away from them.
“Give me that whip now,” Tira said, extending her hand, “and you won’t have the displeasure of learning what I can do with it, Ferris.”
Waine cocked an eyebrow. “Wow, you know who I am and still have this much guts.” He tossed the coiled whip, Tira snatching it out of the air. “I’m honestly impressed, especially for someone of your pedigree.”
Tira rolled her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be bothering your own teacher’s aide?”
Waine threw his hands up. “I’m tested already, Advanced External Targeting, and I have business here besides. I’m meeting one of my practicum partners to introduce our last group member,” he said, pointing his thumb to the girl behind.
The girl shook her head. “I— I still—”
“Elaina,” Tira said. “Are you really practicum partners with this kid?”
“No no,” Waine said. “Not her. I was just saying hi to her as we walked to Prisma. We’ll be going now.” He turned back to Elaina. “By the way, if you ever want to do some modeling again, let me know.”
Tira cocked her head. “Modeling?”
Waine laughed, grabbing the arm of the girl he was with and dragging her off as he spoke. “Ya, she was kind enough to do some underwear modeling for me. If you want any pics, they’re five gold a pop. Just gotta offload ’em to the printer later today.”
Elaina’s heart sunk. She’d hoped until now that it was just a rumor, that it wasn’t actually happening. Later today though? There wasn’t even any time to stop it.
CRACK! CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACK!
The field froze, everyone turning to Tira. Elaina hadn’t seen what she’d done to make such a sound, the repeated, near continuous cracks of the whip, but she saw her face. Tira’s nostrils flared, eyes crunched into the shape of knives as she stomped towards a dumbstruck Waine. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“Hey hey!” Waine said, stumbling backwards and falling on his ass in the sand. “She agreed to it! It was entirely her idea, even! Right , Elaina?” Waine looked at her, begging, pleading, all confidence gone as Tira stopped in front of him, looming over.
“Is that true?” Tira asked.
“What the hell is going on here, Waine?” Prisma’s voice. She was running over from her group, panting as she trudged through the sand.
“Elaina,” Tira said. “Is it true?”
Elaina bowed her head. There was fear in Waine’s eyes, and she had power now. But that power was temporary, borrowed power from Tira. If she had her own power, something that could stand up to him, put fear into him, she might’ve been able to tell the truth. Tears streamed from her eyes as she uttered her response, “Yes, it’s true. I volunteered so they’d let me hang out with them.”
Waine got up, chuckling nervously. “See! We’re all good.” He brushed sand off his uniform pants, shaking his head. “Thanks for telling the truth, Elaina. Really appreciate it.”
“Bullshit!” Tira said sticking a finger into Waine’s chest. “I know what you’re doing, you sniveling little shit. I’m the head of the student watch, and—”
“Now now, officer, let’s not be too hasty. I’m sure you know that nothing here can be proven as untoward. If a student wants to be a little slut, I guess you’d be in your right to write her up for unbecoming conduct, but when it was all her idea, can you really go after the guy she pressured into doing it?” He pushed her finger off his chest. “Do you really think that’s going to work?”
Tira ground her teeth, pushing his hand away. “A duel,” she said. “A duel, and you erase the pictures, all of them, if you lose."
“What?” Waine looked dumbfounded. “You don’t have anything to offer me, and even with my power I’m not stupid enough to challenge a second-year worldly Aspected.”
“You’re not going to be dueling me,” Tira said. Elaina was the one dumbfounded now. If it wasn’t Tira that was dueling, who was it? And why was everyone looking to Elaina of all people for the answer?
Oh.