Chapter 14–A Lesson in History

A breakfast of fruit, honeyed toast, and tea later—we're led by Kate to our first class.

Kate glances at the small map in her hands every now and then.

'History…' my mind grumbles.

We slide open the door and are greeted by our new instructor. She has flowing red locks, vibrant hazel eyes, and a cute freckled face. I also don't miss her pointed ears marking her as an elf.

She vigorously shakes Kate's hands.

"Welcome, Welcome. I'm Ms. Triophlem. Oh wow! Your eyes, you must be the Regneil I've heard so much about. I have a lesson lined up about someone you know quite well," Ms. Triophlem says sweetly, moving on to vigorously shake the hands of Marshal and me.

I get the feeling I won't be as bored as I expected.

After shaking my hands she's very forward about feeling up the mark—she's entirely too close. I'm afraid my brain will overheat, but she moves away after a few moments giving a curious comment before letting us go. We're free to choose where we sit so I just follow Kate and Marshal.

Kate chooses a seat next to the window. Marshal sits in front of her, and I sit next to Kate.

After waiting a little while for the rest of the class to filter in, Ms. Triophlem prepares to start class. Kate pauses our conversation—about what the lesson will be—and turns to the front looking attentive. My face turns to a slight frown, but it doesn't last.

Our conversation had brewed my interest in the coming lesson. I look around at my new classmates. They're a smaller portion of our previously large group of first years. After a quick headcount, I find there are 21 of us—not counting Ms. Triophlem.

'The perfect size for squads of three.'

"Alright class, I will be your history instructor for the year, Ms. Triophlem. I have so much knowledge to share, so today I thought it fitting to teach you the origins of adventurers and elites—"

Then the lesson began. While I knew most everything about elites by proxy, I did listen intently.

Adventures have been around forever, but the Elites were only formed in the last 300 years. They are regarded as two sides of the same coin. Their biggest difference is in how they operate. Adventurers are explorers and jacks of all trades. They help explore the world, and brave uncharted lands, while Elites lurk in the shadows keeping the world in order.

The three academies were created by the heads of the three nations after the great war that nearly destroyed the world. They were created strictly to train Elites, but Adventurers were incorporated as well for their potential to be promising Elites with additional training.

Out of the two, the path of the Adventurer is freer and less secretive. Anyone can be one and they don't even have to attend the academy—this is not true for Elites. Elites are either scouted from birth or acquired from the academy. They're very secretive, and no one knows how large their ranks have grown. The scariest part of becoming an elite, however, is getting a mark of the Elite inscribed onto you.

When I asked my mom about hers—when I was younger—she showed me. It's located on her outer right thigh. She described it as being the worst pain she'd ever endured. It's a permanent mark that will remain even after death. Not only that, it essentially ensured her loyalty—binding her to the Elites and their core objective—forever. My mom couldn't start a war or betray the Elites even if she wanted to.

Permanent marks like the mark of the Elite are rarely developed, because of the amount of strain on the marked and the marker. Some go insane just getting it drawn. My mom described it as trying to hold onto her very being, and she didn't really get into the aftermath, but the mark had to be developed. The scars of war ran too deep, and at the time they couldn't take any chances of treason.

I'm more of the adventure type, but the promise of a permanent mark would keep me far from the path of the Elite. My mom is understanding though and lets me choose my own way. I stifle a yawn as Ms. Triophlem wraps up the lesson.

"—Thanks to that we can all live peacefully. Thank you all for being so respectful. In your first lesson too. I'm proud of you all," Ms. Triophlem finishes as the sound of a small yet blaring bell can be heard, "Oh, there's your bell. No homework for today. Enjoy your next class!"

"Come on," Marshal says, patting my shoulder as he heads toward the door.

Kate takes the lead once we're in the hallway. It's a lot more crowded in the halls now than it was earlier. I do my best to not get swept up in the crowd, but it's not easy. It's like every person is concentrated in this one spot.

After having to fight my way through the crowd to keep up with my squad we finally reach our nature class. We're all shepherded into the classroom by our instructor. My eyes light up when I realize it's the coachmen—I mean instructor—from before. He gives me a small nod for the moment we make eye contact.

Once everyone's inside the instructor walks to the chalkboard to write his name. Kate, Marshal, and I find ourselves stuck in the back of the classroom. I would rather have a window seat, but it couldn't be helped. Luckily most squads had the "stick with your party" mentality, so we got to sit together at least. Our instructor turns revealing his name.

"Hello, students. I am Raviel Ranviel, and you may call me Mr. Ranviel," Mr. Ranviel says gesturing to the board, "As you know I will be your Nature instructor. Due to your late start. Today's class will be shorter than usual, but we will be covering a topic—I hope—you all are quite familiar with. Let us begin—"

The three magics. Idle magic, Internal magic, and State magic. These three magics are essentially the building blocks of all magic. Magic is the intangible force that defies the natural world, yet is so vital to its existence. Internal magic—often referred to as the "Magic body" or "Magic system"—is what's inside all living things. Idle magic is what usually floats around aimlessly in the air. It also circulates within "Magic bodies". State magic—more commonly know as the fifth state of matter—is a state of matter only possible with human intervention.

Basically, when a human takes an affinity of choice into their body they release it in a similar state. The only difference is that in this new state the element can act unnaturally in accordance with the human's will. Some experts say that—theoretically—this means humans should be able to do anything with their affinity but of course that'd only be true if humans didn't have to coordinate with their affinity's own "will" to maintain the fifth state.

I stifle a yawn trying to look attentive.

I struggle to keep my eyes open. The lesson was interesting enough but Mr. Ranviel's voice is very monotone, and it's making it hard to focus. I look over to Kate and even she was leaning on her elbow. Marshal however looked far more attentive than Kate and I combined. He looks bored but he's very clearly paying close attention. Mr. Ranviel has started to talk about plants and lesser magic systems, and I try desperately to remember it all. I left my notebook of all things. I'd expected today's lessons would be light so I only brought my small book pouch.

'Note to self. Bring notebook to class.' I mumble internally

"—And remember this quote: "Magic can do anything it's only limited by its user". That'll conclude today's lesson. There's no homework today and you are free to go. Enjoy your lunch," Mr. Ranviel finishes giving us a slight wave.

Mr. Ranviel starts to wipe off the board as the class gathers their things. Marshal lets out a big yawn while stretching his arms. The small bell noise can be heard cheerfully ringing as everyone floods out of the classroom.

The three of us head to the dining hall. It looks very different, full of tables and chairs. When we last were here most all the chairs and tables were absent. I take in the pleasant aroma of cooking. We join the growing line to the serving area. There are a few options, all looking delicious, but I have my eye on a large mutton leg. There's also an assortment of cheeses.

'Will I get in trouble if I get one of each." I worry, shifting from foot to foot.

"I wonder if we'll learn about that thing," Kate says, changing the topic.

I tilt my head before my brain helpfully reminds me—in gruesome detail—what she's talking about. The spiny creature from that day is now very real behind my eyes—despite this, I manage to stay composed.

"Maybe," I say. I wouldn't mind knowing exactly what that thing was.

"If we ask Mr. Ranviel I'm sure he wouldn't mind telling us more about it," Marshal says.

I notice the mood darken slightly so I change the topic, "Those Spore lilies were pretty, weren't they?"

"There used to be some growing in the forest around my village. I gathered a bouquet of them for one of my mom's birthdays," I mention.

"They're so lovely," Kate says, eyes lighting up a little, "I read about them in a flower book of mine at home. And the illustrations Mr. Ranviel showed us were so nice."

"You can't catch all of their beauty in a drawing though," I say.

"We should totally gather some when we go to the Elf Lands to go on my quest," Marshal says with a wink.

"Those little spores of light would look amazing at night," Kate says, "I can almost see it." Her eyes shine as she imagines it.

"I wonder if there's a plant out there that can shoot fire—I'd like something like that," Marshal muses, I shrug, "I guess that's why we're in classes, huh, but that'd be so cool."

We make it to the serving counter. I pick out the nice piece of mutton I'd been eyeing. I tentatively ask the server if I can have a piece of all of the cheeses. They laugh, serving them to me.

"You're here to eat aren't ya. Eat your fill, son."

I nod. I walk over to the drink station and browse the choices. I tap the tangerine square.

'"Sweet Lemon", interesting.'

I wait a few moments for whomever to pour my drink. A few moments later, a wooden platform holding my drink autonomously slides from the hole on the side of the selection area. I thank the anonymous pourer. I lag behind for a second for Kate and Marshal. We pick a table to start enjoying our meal.

Marshal treats us to a wealth of stories about himself and his hometown.

"An entire week," Kate asks—skeptical. Marshal grins smugly.

"Yes, and I have the scar to prove it. Wanna see," he offers, lifting his shirt.

"N-no…" Kate says, sipping her drink.

"I insist—it's really cool—and I can't have you not believing me," Marshal teases, lifting his shirt a little more.

"Keep your clothes on," Kate says, pulling his shirt back down embarrassed.

I laugh taking another bite of the ridiculously flavorful mutton.